Er Dong

Deep in the mountains of China there is a large rock known as the Baby Selling Stone. People forced to sell their children for reasons such as poverty often wait by the stone for buyers.

One winter, it is still snowing in February. After passing the Baby Selling Stone on his way home from working outside the village, Silang Yang returns with a baby boy. He calls him “Er Dong.” Soon after, Silang Yang dies. His widow raises Er Dong on her own. Er Dong grows up obstinate. The more his mother dotes on him, the more unruly he becomes. He is a big headache for her — messing about with a shotgun, getting into fights, and riding around on a motorbike. She sends him away to board at a Christian missionary school. He runs away from the school, eloping with a girl called Chang’e Yang. Then Er Dong begins to discover just how hard life can be. When Chang’e gets pregnant, he is forced to return home and get married. Shouldering his responsibilities, he begins to wonder what life is all about. However, industrialization has been developing rapidly in the countryside, and Er Dong discovers it is harder than ever to make something out of his life.

43ª MOSTRA INTERNACIONAL DE CINEMA

43ª MOSTRA INTERNACIONAL DE CINEMA