A gorgeous melancholic masterpiece that breaks your heart and then puts it back together again. ‘So Long My Son’ is the filmic equivalent of a classic Russian novel with all the meaning of life explored. Within the opening scenes we know a tragedy has occurred, and from then the film traces the lives of two families over three decades of social, political and human upheaval in China. Destinies ebb and flow, and fortunes are transformed under the impact of a country's changing face but the unhealed scars of the earlier incident have rooted deep into the psyche of the families. Wang Xiaoshuai's acclaimed drama chronicles people and a society in full transformation - in which human relationships and the tumultuous evolution of a nation are inevitably and inextricably intertwined. ★★★★★ Nigel Andrews, Financial Times ★★★★★ "Magnificent film-making" - Kevin Maher, The Times ★★★★★ "A moving poetic tale of everyday lives in changing times" - Dave Calhoun, Time Out ★★★★★ "A piercingly, profoundly moving picture that peels and exposes the senses" - Peter Bradshaw's Film Of The Week, The Guardian