During China’s Cultural Revolution, intellectual Lu (Daoming) is sent away for re-education, leaving behind his wife Feng (Gong) and young daughter Dandan. Many years later he escapes, but party-loyal Dandan turns him in. When he returns home three years later, Lu finds that Feng no longer recognizes him and even seems to fear his presence. With the help of his daughter, he sets about reawakening her heart.

Zhang reteams with Chinese superstar Gong Li for this sensitive exploration of memory and loss. Using Feng’s amnesia to suggest China’s collective guilt about its painful past, Zhang forges a heartfelt story where one lover is intent on remembering and the other on forgetting. Simply told, with heartfelt performances and evocative locations, the Chinese filmmaker creates magic with his frequent collaborator and muse, Gong Li.