Border Town

This film is adapted from Shen Congwen's novel of the same name. The story takes place in the early years of the Republic of China. In a small mountain town on the border of western Hunan, there was an old boatman (played by Feng Hanyuan) who guarded a ferry and helped people crossing the river. He and his granddaughter Cuicui (played by Dai Na) are dependent on each other. 17 years ago, Cuicui's mother gave birth to a child out of wedlock with a garrison sergeant. Later, both of them died in love. The old boatman didn't want Cuicui to make the same mistake again, and wanted to entrust Cuicui to a reliable person. Shun Shun, the captain of the ship in Chadong City, has two sons - the eldest brother Tianbao (played by Liu Kui) and the second son Nuosong (played by Shi Lei). They fell in love with Cuicui at the same time, and Cuicui fell in love with Er Duo. Cuicui met Er Duo by chance on the night of the Dragon Boat Festival three years ago, and the seeds of love were quietly planted at that time. Later, the brothers decided to let Cuicui choose by singing a love song. But for various reasons, the singing never came again. Then came the sad news that the boss was drowned in the water. Although the second brother still loved Cuicui, he ran away in anger because of his brother's death. On a stormy night, the old boatman died of depression. Cuicui finally understood many things, so she guarded the ferry and waited for the second brother to come back... The film won the Jury Honorary Award at the 9th Montreal International Film Festival in Canada.