''Rain Clouds over Wushan'' () (also known as ''In Expectation'') is a 1995 Chinese film directed by

Zhang Ming Zhang Ming (, born June 1957) is a Chinese diplomat. Zhang was born in Zhengzhou, Henan Province. He graduated from the Faculty of Asian and African Languages of Beijing Foreign Studies University with a bachelor's degree. Zhang began his career ...

and written by

Zhu Wen Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (), personal name Zhu Quanzhong () (December 5, 852 – July 18, 912), né Zhu Wen (), name later changed to Zhu Huang (), nickname Zhu San (朱三, literally, "the third Zhu"), was a Chinese military general, mona ...

. The film follows the lives of two lonely people living in Wushan on the banks of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flow ...

during the construction of the

Three Gorges Dam The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, central China, downstream of the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges Dam has been the ...

. The satirical portrayal of rural life is considered part of the sixth generation movement that began in the early 1990s.Zhang, Yingjin & Xiao, Zhiwei (1998)
''Encyclopedia of Chinese Film''
Taylor & Francis, p. 276. . Google Book Search. Retrieved 2008-09-26. Unlike many other films of the movement, however, ''Rain Clouds over Wushan'' was produced with help from the state-run

Beijing Film Studio } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Plot

Mai Qiang is a 30-year old bachelor, withdrawn, with little in his life besides his job at an isolated signal station along the Yangtze River and his ink drawings he uses as toilet paper. Chen Qing is a hotel clerk, a widow with a young child and an undemanding relationship with her boss Lao Mo. Lao believes she has been raped, so he reports the crime to Wu Gang, the neighborhood cop. Wu investigates, but Chen is uncooperative. Lao then identifies Mai, who is detained and questioned. After Wu gets to the truth of the incident, Mai tries to break out of his loneliness and connect to Chen.

Reception

Since its release in 1996, ''Rainclouds over Wushan'' has slowly gained a reputation as a key film in the sixth generation movement of Chinese cinema. It was, for example, part of a retrospective by the

Harvard Film Archive The Harvard Film Archive (HFA) is a film archive and cinema located in the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dedicated to the collection, preservation and exhibition of film, the HFA houses a ...

as part of its retrospective on the so-called "Urban Generation" in 2001. It was also screened at other retrospectives throughout the United States, including the

UCLA Film Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the arc ...

's 2000 "New Chinese Cinema: Tales of Urban Delight, Alienation and the Margins" retrospective. Internationally, the film was screened at several film festivals, notably winning a

Dragons and Tigers Award VIFF Dragons and Tigers Award for Young Cinema was an award from the Vancouver International Film Festival for a film director from the Asia-Pacific region. Presented to a film judged as the best film by an emerging director within the festival's D ...

from the

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Fest ...

in 1997, an honor it shared with the South Korean film, ''

The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well ''The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well'' (돼지가 우물에 빠진 날, ''Dwaejiga umul-e ppajin nal'') is a 1996 Korean drama film and the directorial debut of Hong Sang-soo. It stars Bang Eun-hee, Jo Eun-sook, Park Jin-song, Lee Eung-kyung and Ki ...

''. Additionally the film won a FIPRESCI prize at the

Torino Film Festival The Torino Film Festival (also called the Turin Film Festival, TFF) is an international film festival held annually in Turin, Italy. Held every November, it is the second largest film festival in Italy, following the Venice Film Festival. It was f ...

, as well as the Best Feature Film award.

References

External links

* *{{Amg movie, 136035, Rainclouds over Wushan
''Rainclouds over Wushan''
at the Chinese Movie Database 1995 films 1995 drama films Chinese drama films Films set in Chongqing 1990s Mandarin-language films