Underplayed Gems

The True Story of Ah Q (1981)

The True Story of Ah Q poster
Original title
阿Q正传
Directed by
Cen Fan
Genre
drama film
Country
People's Republic of China
Runtime
2h 05m
Rating
6.8 of 10 from 15 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

The film follows a poor and naive man in early 20th century China as he encounters various misfortunes and humiliations. He copes by using a psychological trick of self-deception to maintain his dignity. The story is a critique of society and human nature.

melancholicsatiricalbleakslow-burncerebralperiod piecewryunsettling

What happens

The True Story of Ah Q (simplified Chinese: 阿Q正传; traditional Chinese: 阿Q正傳; pinyin: Ā Q zhèng zhuàn) is a 1981 Chinese drama film directed by Fan Cen. It was entered into the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. It is based on the early 1920s novella of the same name by Lu Xun. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.