EIFF 2012: Here, There (Zheli, nali)

The modern Chinese Diaspora has been tackled many times in film, most recently in the documentary Last Train Home, but never have I seen it contemplated quite as elegantly as it is here. Lu Sheng’s wonderful first feature is a story of transient people, but also of loss: a world turning and old traditions dying. He creates a tapestry of tales set in Shanghai, Paris and the mountains of northern China. Here are disparate people scattered like seeds, far from home and alienated by language and dialect. A northern waiter’s inability to understand Shanghainese and the macaronic utterances throughout are clear evidence of a contemporary Babel. Life becomes borderless as cultures encroach upon new territory. A beautiful snow blanketed hilltop scene is contaminated with just the mention of KFC, while Paris streets are aglow with neon Chinese signage. Lu seems to suggest that we are principally defined by where we are from; displacement leaves us vulnerable, lamenting home from afar. There is slight overlap in the telling of these three strands but no clichéd, perfunctory tie-up is offered. Real life is far too seamless for that. [Alan Bett]