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One Second

Yi miao zhong

2020

Zhang Yimou

Yi Zhang, Fan Wei, Liu Haocun, Yu Ailei ...

6.3

1,033

Drama. Comedy A prisoner is sent to a labour camp in China’s desolate northwest during the country’s Cultural Revolution. Using his wit, and with the sole purpose of seeing a newsreel containing a glimpse of his daughter, he escapes and heads for the cinema in a local town. There he hopes to find the film and get a hold of it. But on the way he comes across a young vagabond with the same desperate mission who runs away with the reel. Curiously, this ... [+]

	Media	Author	Review
		John Berra Screendaily	"An emotionally satisfying celebration of how cinema is experienced both individually and collectively (...) a welcome return to personal territory for Zhang"
		Jessica Kiang Variety	"Despite censorship, Zhang Yimou's tale of the power of cinema has a gorgeous eye, a droll sense of humor and a big, full celluloid heart."
		David Ehrlich IndieWire	"While by no means on par with the guttural masterpieces that defined the so-called Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, this heartsick fable (...) harks back to the earthiness that characterized those classics"
		Jake Cole Slant	"'One Second' is as much a tribute to the struggles of a man whose life has stolen from him as it is to a bygone way of looking at movies (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"
		Kate Taylor The Globe and Mail	"'One Second' is affectionate and sweet –perhaps a bit too sweet, considering this premiere was much delayed after the film was held back by the Chinese government for supposed technical reasons in 2019"
		Cath Clarke The Guardian	"A deeply felt film, grief and pain go to the bone (...) A simple, humane story told in metaphors (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Zhuo-Ning Su The Film Stage	Many movies are meant as love letters to cinema and 'Yi miao zhong' truly is one. It takes us back to a place and time where the magic of the cinematic experience feels fresh, where people treat films with ceremonial reverence

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