"I'm Mao Dabing ("Great Soldier" Mao)" "My parents threw me out when I was a kid" "I came to the city to look for a job" "I tried everything" "Now I have a job delivering water" "I love movies" "Aside from food and rent I spent all my money on movies" "Each ticket costs three or four days' pay" "I like action movies best of all" "The more bloodthirsty, the better" "I can see myself as the movie hero" "But most movies are too short" "They end just when I'm getting into them" "So I go to the weekend all-night shows" "Four movies, non-stop" "It's like spending the whole night dreaming" "This is an okay job" "The boss gives each of us a bike" "Dunno why people don't drink tap water" "Is it poisonous?" "They prefer bottled water" "Just as well they do..." "Keeps me in work!" "Hi!" "Hi!" "Hi!" "Thank you" "Thank you" "Thanks a lot" "I make twenty deliveries a day" "That's five or six hundred a month" "But I don't know the customers" "They mostly ignore me" "Good things happen in movies, not in my life" "But one day when I'd finished work..." "I was rushing to catch the latest release" "And something terrible happened" "Something I never could have imag ined" "He's coming round" "What's going on?" "Do you recall what happened?" "Do I recall?" "Yeah, well..." "I was on my bike, going to see a movie" "And I ran into this stack of bricks" "I fell off my bike" "And just as I was picking myself up some girl picked up a brick and hit me!" "Nothing wrong with his memory" "I think she was in a white dress" "Do you know her?" "No, I don't" "Then why did she hit you?" "I wish I knew" "What's your work unit?" "I work for a company, delivering water" "Officer, my... my bike?" "It's a write-off" "Oh, no!" "Why did you hit him?" "You won't say, will you?" "What an attitude!" "Xiao, please step outside" "She is so obstinate!" "Hasn't said a single word" "Xiao, don't be impatient" "You're new to this, take it easy" "Don't lose your temper" "It's you!" "You!" "Why did you hit me?" "Don't play dumb, look at me!" "Recognize me?" "You've nothing against me!" "Why did you hit me?" "See?" "You cracked my head open!" "What made you do it?" "Stop acting dumb, okay?" "Listen, I've lost my job" "And I gotta pay for the bike" "So you owe me" "Do you hear me?" "Why are you crying?" "I didn't hit you, you hit me!" "What's with you?" "Are you writing?" "There's no need" "I've worked it out already" "Doctor's bill, sick pay..." "Compensation for the shock..." "Let's call it..." "RMB 500" "What?" "You want me to feed your fishes?" "Why should I?" "What're you doing?" "Don't pick on me!" "There's no such thing as a free lunch" "And you don't get hit for nothing either" "My injury was a motiveless crime" "But it got me into this really weird room" "This place is like a tiny cinema" "Now I hope she doesn't come back any time soon" "Then I can stay here for a while" "I still have no idea why she hit me with that brick" "I don't even know her!" "It beats me" "But I can't shake the memory of her eyes" "I got the feeling she'd seen a lot..." ""If my life..."" "If my life were a movie I'd be the only one watching it" "I wanted to record my memories as if they were a movie" "It'll be like seeing the ones I loved" "Remembering how they looked..." "Hearing their familiar voices..." ""Italian film director Antonioni..."" ""...in his documentary about China..."" "The woman speaking is my mother" "Everyone in this small town is jealous of her" "She doesn't need to get dirty working down the mine" "She stays in the studio broadcasting news reports" "Daren, is there a movie tonight?" "'The Red Lantern' at 7:00 p.m." "Let's go home to eat and then come back to watch the movie" ""That ends today's broadcast"" ""Until tomorrow!"" "My mother's ultimate dream was to be like the singer Zhou Xuan" "And become a movie star" "But at that time Zhou Xuan's movies were banned" "Part of the struggle against capitalism" "Just like any beautiful young woman in her best years, my mother fell dangerously in love" "Excellent!" "What's so excellent?" "Think she's well cast as Li Tiemei?" "She's like the kind of singer they used to have in restaurants" "I'd go so far as to call her counter-revolutionary" "The Cultural Troupe liked my mother" "They planned to train her to a professional level" "But at that critical moment love brought her not only a passionate romance but also me" ""The Xinua News Agency reports..."" ""President Nixon and his wife..."" ""...are invited to a cultural performance tonight"" ""They'll see the modern revolutionary opera..."" ""..." "Red Detachment of Women"" ""Premier Zhou Enlai will accompany the president and his wife..."" ""...to watch the performance"" ""Also present will be officials from..."" ""...the State Department..."" "By mistake, my mother put on a banned song" "She narrowly escaped being branded a 'counter-revolutionary'" "One day, her lover (that's my father) abandoned her" "She was seven months' pregnant" "Her plan was go somewhere far away" "Give birth in secret, and have me adopted" "She thought no-one would find out" "Even at that moment, her dreams were still intact" "She imagined that one day she'd become the brightest of stars" "Daren, what's the movie tonight?" "A foreign movie!" "Go home and tell everyone to come to see it" "A film from Albania totally changed my mother's fate" "It was called 'Victory over Death'" "The leading character was a strong and beautiful woman guerrilla" "Her name was Mila Galami" "Mother's plan was to leave town after seeing the movie" "In those days, the chance to see a foreign film was too rare to pass up" "Xuehua, what's the matter?" "Your tummy is aching?" "Come and sit here" "Take me home" "I've two more reels to show" "Hang on a while" "Take me home" "Xu, she has a tummy-ache" "Can you take her home?" "How is she?" "Let me take a look" "Her tummy hurts" "Let me see" "I think she's about to give birth!" "She's about to give birth!" "Come on, everyone, let's get her to the hospital" "Slowly... carry her" "I'd been in mother's womb for only seven months before I was born in the outdoor theater" "It was as if my arrival set off a bomb which destroyed my mother's whole life" "Denounce the man who made you pregnant!" "Why don't you say?" "Speak up!" "We're all brothers and sisters" "You can speak freely" "Kneel down!" "Kneel down!" "She's always been tainted by petit-bourgeois thought!" "One time she was cast in 'The Red Lantern' as Li Tiemei" "Didn't she see herself as Scarlett O'Hara?" "Are you still dreaming of becoming a movie star?" "You'd better take a good look at yourself!" "Or you're digging your own grave!" "My mother was treated very badly" "People swore at her wherever she went" "She decided she'd rather die than live without dignity" ""Please be so kind as to adopt this baby"" ""She's an orphan"" "What are you doing here?" "Don't let your baby cry!" "I'm about to start the broadcast" "Get out of here!" ""Attention, please!"" ""Attention, please..." "tonight in the outdoor cinema..."" ""...a repeat screening of a film from Albania..."" ""'Victory over Death'"" "That very night, the movie was shown again" "My mother decided this would be the last movie she ever saw" "Once it was over, she would depart this life" "But she wanted to take one last look at the lovely Mila Galami" "What are you doing?" " I'm sorry" " Sit here!" "She's carrying a baby!" "What are you doing?" "Let her sit down!" "You shameless slut!" "Don't play the innocent!" "Shameless!" "Why are you hitting her?" "She's eyeing my husband" "You filthy slut!" "Don't even know who is the bastard's father!" "You dare show the brat in public!" "Where's your sense of shame?" "Slut!" "Aren't you ashamed?" "How dare you hit me!" "From that night on Mother stopped thinking about leaving me to face the world alone" "She wanted to go on living just like the brave movie heroine" "Indomitable!" "She wasn't allowed to go on acting with the troupe" "Or to go on announcing the news" "Instead she brought home soiled sheets from the hospital" "She worked tirelessly to get them clean" "As white as the screen in the cinema" "That white screen was always there as I grew up" "At that time, my idol was Pan Dongzi in 'Shining Red Star'" "Whenever we walked on the street everyone stared at us" "Mother always told me to keep my head high" ""Even when a thousand pairs of eyes are staring..."" ""...you don't need to feel afraid"" "Uncle Pan..." "Ling Ling!" "Tell your Ma to bring you to see 'Little Soldier Zhang Ga' tonight" "Great!" "What's playing tonight?" "'Little Soldier Zhang Ga'" "What movie is it?" "'Little Soldier Zhang Ga'" "Ling Ling" "Look at those witches!" "Nice perms they've had" "Here, Ling Ling" "After the film tonight I'll take you somewhere you can have fun" "What kind of fun?" "It's a secret" "You'll see when we get there" "I'm over here!" "Sit down, you're in the beam!" "Xuehua, where did you get your hair curled?" "It looks great" "We're watching the movie, be quiet!" "Okay, shut up" "I'll never understand" "Those people who persecuted my mother before are now sitting beside us as if nothing ever happened" "Reel change!" "Reel change!" "The projectionist's fallen asleep!" "The lazybones!" "You pulled my ponytail" " No, I didn't" " It was you" " No, I didn't" " It was you" "Boy, what's going on?" "Did you pull her pony tail?" "Be good and watch the movie" "Stop teasing the little girl" "Sit down!" "I'll get my dad to fix you two" "Sit down!" "Mama, why don't I have a dad?" "You do have a dad" "Where is he?" "Ling Ling, your dad is over there" "Is he really my dad?" "I took what my mother said completely seriously" "My dad is a movie hero, Luo Jinbao" "Ling Ling, come here" "That's Little Ga!" "Uncle Pan, what's this?" "Ling Ling, don't touch that" "That's the reel of film, kid" "Ma, it's Pan Dongzi!" "Uncle, can I watch the movie from here?" "Why not?" "Do you want to watch a movie every day?" "Yes" "I don't want to be your daughter" "I have a dad" "My dad is Luo Jinbao" "Right, Mama?" "Yes" "Alright, I'll show you something nice" "See, Ling Ling, here's your dad!" "Mama, can I go play with dad?" "Ling Ling, your dad is no ordinary dad" "He is a guerrilla" "His work is very hard" "So he can't be like other people's dads" "He can't play with you" "But he's a war hero" "He's the greatest of all dads!" "Mama, is Uncle Pan telling the truth?" "Yes, he is" "Ling Ling, do you want to see your dad every day?" "Yes!" "I had a dream that night" "In my dream, I walked into the world of movies" "Dad!" "Dad!" "Ling Ling" "Uncle Pan!" "Although I didn't find Dad in my dream Uncle Pan was always around" "We often went to his work room" "And he showed us movies" "Come on, let's watch a movie!" "Mama, who are they?" "They're movie stars" "Why haven't I seen them before?" "I've seen their movies" "Her name is Zhou Xuan" "She's Mama's favorite" "You know this song?" "I've often heard you hum it" "That's how I know it" "Those times with my Mama were the happiest of my childhood" "I secretly made up my mind to become a superstar like Zhou Xuan when I grew up" "If Mama couldn't do it, I would!" "When I was in first grade at school I met a horrible boy" "So thick he might have been born from a rock" "His name was Mao Xiaobing ("Little Soldier" Mao)" "Raise it... slowly..." "Bullshit!" "This is your so-called 'Big Movie World'?" "This is your scheme to make a lot of money?" "Not at all" "I just wanted to offer something fresh" "What's fresh about it?" "Just the same old stuff!" "Come round with your wife after dinner" "See a movie!" "Uncle, are you the one who shows the movie?" "Yes..." "I don't think I've seen you before" "I just moved here, my name is Mao Xiaobing" "Uncle, will you show a movie today?" "Yes, 'Railway Guerrillas'" "'Railway Guerrillas'!" "Uncle, is this 'Railway Guerrillas'?" "Yes" "Can I turn this?" "Yes, slowly" "That's right, do it slowly" "Okay, make sure it picks up" "Careful, slowly..." "I'll be back in a moment" "Who are you?" "What are you doing?" "Put that down!" "Stop!" "Stop running!" "Give that back!" "No, I won't!" "Leave me alone!" "Give me back that film!" "Stop chasing me!" "I'm exhausted!" "I give up!" "Here..." "You stinker!" "I hate you!" "Hurry, Mama" "The movie's going to start" "M r." "Pan, sorry to be slow" "We're delaying you" "Don't mention it!" "What are you looking at?" "Try that again and I'll break the binoculars" "You've repeated two classes already" "If it happens again at this new school I'll have to beat you to death" "I've been talking to you all day" "Are you listening?" "Get up!" "Let's move!" "This is our new classmate" "Let's give him a big welcome" "Tell your classmates your name" "My name's Mao Xiaobing" "I'm Chairman Mao's Little Soldier!" "Quiet please, everyone" "In his last school he had to repeat two classes" "Today he transfers to our school and joins our class" "Please give him all the help he needs" "What's wrong?" "Yesterday someone stole something from Uncle Pan" "It was him!" "Did you steal something yesterday?" " I didn't" " It was you!" "It wasn't me" "I saw you do it!" "I swear to Teacher Huang that I didn't steal anything" "It's very bad to steal" "And it's even worse to lie" "We'll look into this later" "Now, who'll sit next to Mao Xiaobing?" ""25:" "Delivering a Raincoat"" ""It's late at night..."" ""But Premier Zhou is still hard at work..."" "Teacher gave him the seat next to mine" "He teaches us to "Learn from Lei Feng" by treating our comrades like the warmth of spring" "But Mao Xiaobing was always troublesome to me" "He drove me crazy" "What are you doing?" "Hands off!" "Mao Xiaobing!" "What are you doing?" "Where are you going?" "To stand outside as a punishment" "Go!" "Beat him up!" "Beat him to death!" "Don't move!" "Don't move!" "Where are you going?" "Which unit are you from?" "Don't beat me!" "Move!" "No tricks!" "Commander, we caught a spy!" "I'm not a spy!" "What are you doing here?" "I want to play with you" "Let me play too, okay?" "You want to play with us?" "Who will you be?" "I'd like to be a good guy" "But you look more like a traitor" "Stand up!" "Stand up!" "In the name of the Party and the People I sentence you to the firing squad!" "Mao Xiaobing!" "Mao Xiaobing, come here" "What are you doing?" "Come here" "If you want to play with us bring us that flower girl!" "Give me back my film-strip" " I lost it" " You're lying" "I really lost it" "Then get me another one" " Really?" " Yes" "Come on, then!" "Commander, the Eighth Route Army has gone" "We've captured a flower girl" "Good, tie her up" "You can't move!" "Go!" "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "Where is the Eighth Route Army?" "Untie me!" "Mao Xiaobing, untie me right now!" "Jiang Ling Ling, you'd better answer" "Or they'll beat you for sure" "Mao Xiaobing" " Punish her!" " Yes, sir" "Mao Xiaobing, I'll tell your father about this!" "He'll beat the hell out of you!" "I won't hurt you any more but don't tell my dad!" "How dare you kick me!" "You stay here all day!" "Die of thirst!" "Let's go!" "Untie me!" "Let me go!" "Ling Ling, I've come to rescue you" "Promise you won't tell my dad" "He'll truly beat the hell out of me" "Ling Ling, did you hear me?" "You go home!" "Don't worry..." "I'll deal with him later!" "You little wretch!" "Always causing trouble!" "I'll teach you!" "Come here!" "More trouble every day!" "I'll teach you, you little bastard!" "Stop, damn you!" "Don't play tricks with me!" "Uncle, don't beat him!" "Uncle, open the door!" "Why are you still here?" "Uncle, please stop beating him" "I have to teach him a lesson" "How dare you run away?" "Come back!" "Stay away if you dare!" "I'll kill you if you come back!" "Mao Xiaobing..." "Mao Xiaobing..." "Mao Xiaobing, come down" "Quick, come down" "Why are you following me?" "You're bleeding" "None of your business" "Go away!" "I'm watching a movie" "You're lying, there's no movie in the daytime" "If you don't believe me, forget it" "Mao Xiaobing, you must be crazy" "There isn't any movie" "Don't believe me?" "Look!" "There's nothing there" "Concentrate!" "'Railway Guerrillas' is on?" "Mao Xiaobing told me his binoculars worked like magic" "They showed him whatever he wanted" "Your dad beats you so hard" "Why doesn't your Ma stop him?" "She's not my mother" "My real mother divorced my dad" "She married someone else" "She wants her new son, not me" "Does it hurt?" "Yes, every time he beats me I think of war movies I've seen" "I imagine him as a Japanese soldier and myself as a Communist fighter" "Then I'm not afraid any more!" "That's not how it seemed, you screamed like this!" "Not like that, watch me!" ""You little bastard!"" ""I will beat you to death!"" ""Take that!"" "Don't hit me!" ""You wretch!"" ""You can't hide from me!"" ""I will beat you to death!"" "Auntie, can I stay here for a couple of days?" "My dad says he'll kill me if I go home" "Mama, will you let him stay?" "Alright, you can stay" "So Mao Xiaobing came to stay" "We played together, watched movies together" "I wish those days could last forever" "Why did we have to grow up?" ""The night was dark"" ""The train raced down the track"" ""The guerrillas managed to leap on board"" ""Not a single ballet was wasted"" "That's not right" ""Not a single bullet"" "I know" ""One shot took out the foreign devil on the footplate"" "In Uncle Pan's work room we found lots of movie storypicture books" "So on days when no movie was shown we looked at them together" "We could imagine the movie" ""He fired three shots in the air..."" "Mao Xiaobing..." "What do you want to be when you grow up?" "I want to join the army to fight against the Japanese" "I want to be a movie star" "Then I'll able to see you on screen!" "Move!" "What?" " You can't sit here!" " Why not?" "This is my territory!" "We were here first" "But you can't sit here" " Let's go!" " No!" "I'm going even if you won't" "Mao Xiaobing, come back!" "Don't be scared!" "Ling Ling, come over here" "We can watch from somewhere else" "You coward, I'm staying here!" "Fetch my chair" "No, I won't" "Go and fetch my chair" "Get up, let's go!" "Where are you going?" "Mao Xiaobing plays with girls!" "Shameful!" "Just ignore them!" "We can see better up here anyway" "Let me help you" "I don't want your help" "What's wrong?" "Ignoring me?" "It's really clear!" " Take a look" " No" "Don't be angry, take a look" ""Brother"" "Brother" "You're crying!" "You rascal!" " Do you have a brother?" " No" "Then I'll be your brother" "You look like a traitor" "That won't do for my brother" "My brother should be as handsome as him" " Then give me back my binoculars" " Give it to me" "Careful!" "Don't slip and fall!" "The roof top became our secret base" "Xiaobing held me tight whenever we climbed up to watch movies from up there" ""We row a boat across the lake"" ""The lovely white temple is reflected by the water"" ""Trees and beautiful landscapes everywhere we look"" "You were out of tune" "No I wasn't, you were" "Alright, it was sung very well" "Nobody was out of tune" "Auntie, are we going to see a movie?" "Yes" "Mama, which movie is it?" "We'll find out when we get there" "Don't push!" "This is the last ticket!" "Someone will get hurt!" "Sold out!" "No more tickets?" " No more" " Not a single one" "Ling Ling, Xiaobing, there're no more tickets" "But I want to see 'Street Angel'" "Follow me" "I couldn't get tickets, can I pay you?" "Can you let us in please?" "No entry without ticket" "Hey, he doesn't have a ticket!" "Get out!" "You kids, get out!" "Auntie, this is the men's toilet" "Hu rry, you coward!" "Mama, hurry!" "You two go in" "I've seen this film before" "I'll wait for you out here" "Where's your ticket?" "And yours?" "You little devils!" "When did you sneak in?" "Why are you manhandling the kids?" "Hey, don't cry!" "So what if we don't see it!" "It was no good anyway" "I thought it was a war movie" "What do you know?" "You're just a bumpkin" "I'm not!" "Let's go back and see Uncle Pan's movie" "This is Zhou Xuan" "She starred in 'Street Angel'" "Is she good-looking?" "You don't think she is?" "Not as beautiful as your Ma" "You're such a toady!" "I mean it!" "You're afraid she'll throw you out" " No" " Yes" " No" " Yes" "Okay, okay..." "What does 'Street Angel' mean?" "An angel lives in heaven" "Very kind, very beautiful" "She comes down to earth" "She's now very poor" "But still very kind and beautiful" "Who is it?" "Who's there?" "I'll see" "You little wretch!" "Where are you going?" "Let's go!" "What are you doing?" "I'm taking my son home" "I won't go..." "Ma" "You call her "Ma"?" "You disloyal wretch!" "Your mother has dumplings on the table" "We're waiting for you" "He can go home but you mustn't beat him" "He's my son!" "I'm his dad!" "It's none of your business" "This is my house, not yours" "I can do whatever I like" "Who do you think you are?" "Dad, I'll come home with you" "Then get a move on" "Mao Xiaobing..." "Mao Xiaobing..." "After Xiaobing was taken home there was a big change in my family" "It scared me" "I saw Mama with Uncle Pan" "They're in love with each other" "You can't let them fall in love" "My Ma abandoned me when she married again" "And now, my dad doesn't want me either" "He's sending me away tomorrow morning" "Where to?" "To live with my g rand-dad" "Where does he live?" "It takes three days on the train" "So I'll never see you again" "You can have these" "Anyhow, I'll never be able to see movies through them again" "Mao Xiaobing!" "Ma, Ma!" "What is it, Ling Ling?" "Xiaobing's father is sending him away" "Go and talk to him" "He can stay with us, can't he?" "Who are you looking for?" "Xiaobing's father" "He's out" "And Xiaobing?" "He's already gone to the station" "Ma, hu rry!" "Ma, where's the train?" "Comrade, what time is the train to Anhui?" "It left an hour ago" "Uncle, can you make it come back?" "Little friend, if I could do that the sun would come up in the west!" "Mao Xiaobing, you're a bad boy!" "Come back!" "You bad boy, come back!" "Mao Xiaobing was gone" "And all the joys of my childhood went with him" "Whenever I looked through the binoculars I imagine I can see where he is" "What's he doing?" "Does he remember me?" "Hey, man!" "Officers" "Your boss is looking for you" "Wants you to pay for the bike" "How's the g ir I who h it me?" "You're out of luck there" "She probably won't be charged" "I don't want to sue her, I..." "Let me finish" "We have the doctor's report" "She is mentally unbalanced" "She's ill?" "And her hearing is impaired" "Oh, she..." "She's effectively deaf" "What happened to her?" "Can I see her now?" "She's in a psychiatric clinic" "Where is it?" "It has regulations" "Patients undergoing treatment are not allowed visitors" "I'd just like to see her" "You'd be wasting your time" "She doesn't recognize anyone" "Let's leave it for a day or two" "If anything changes, I'll tell you" "Officer, I..." "She can't recognize anyone?" "I never imagined that this was how I'd find Ling Ling again" "I didn't recognize her" "She's not the Ling Ling I used to know" "She was so lively back then" "What happened to her after I left?" "After Mao Xiaobing left Mama and Uncle Pan got married" "First bow!" "Second bow!" "Third bow!" "Today Pan Daren and Jiang Xuehua are celebrating their marriage" "Look, everyone, isn't the bride lovely?" "Today Xuehua is more beautiful than any movie star" "Thank you all!" "Please eat well, drink well and enjoy yourselves!" "I'll be showing movies all evening" "Kids, go out to the backyard" " This little box shows movies?" " Yes" "Show us!" "Daren, why not forget the movies this evening" "Just show us this new toy" " A novelty for everyone" " Okay" "Daren, you're the richest man in this town" "And Xuehua is the prettiest woman" "Yes, of course" "Daren has not only married a beautiful wife he's also gained a beautiful daughter!" "Two for the price of one!" "No flies on him!" "I'll go fetch Ling Ling" "What a loudmouth!" "Excuse us, please, excuse us" "Let Ling Ling greet her new dad" "Ling Ling, greet your dad" "If you don't, your Mama won't want you any more!" "Greet him, Ling Ling" "He is not my dad" "My dad is Luo Jinbao" "Never mind" "Don't make it hard for her" "Xuehua and I have prepared a song" "Ling Ling, you heard this when you were born" "I hate the television" "I hate its sound" "I hate watching it" "Now that it's here, people have gone off movies" "And one year later there's another disgusting arrival in our house" "My little brother was born" "Mama named him Bing Bing" "Dad, Ma, quick!" "Come here!" "Do you think our son looks like Pan Dongzi?" "He does" "If he ever gets the chance to act in a movie he'll be much better than Pan Dongzi!" "Come on, sing it for Mama once more" "My superstar, let Mama kiss you!" "My superstar!" "My baby!" "Sister, how was my singing?" "The Youth Training School is recruiting students" "I want to let Bing Bing have a go" "Maybe he could become a movie actor!" "Great!" "Can I play with your binoculars?" "No, they're mine" "Bing Bing, would you like to be an actor?" "You might be in a movie!" "Yes!" "Let Mama bring you to try out for the school" " Do you dare to try?" " Yes!" "That's great, son" "I want to try for the school too" "You're going to go to middle school" "Concentrate on your studies" "Let's discuss it later" "I must go!" "Mama, why don't sister and I both try?" " Alright" " That's wonderful!" "I'd never seen the Training School before that day" "And I felt happier than I'd been for ages" "It was as if they'd already let me join" "Ling Ling!" "Ling Ling, quick!" "Mama" "What're you doing here, Ma?" "What's wrong?" "What's this?" "Oh my god, an acceptance letter!" "A place in Training School!" "Oh, Mama!" "They're offering your brother a place too" "But the tuition fees are very h igh" "You're about to enter middle school" "So let your brother go first" "You can join him later, okay?" "No, I want to go!" "I can go to middle school as well!" "I'll be frank with you" "We can't really afford to pay tuition fees for both of you" "Let your brother go first" "Understand?" "I have to go!" "Ling Ling, you're the eldest" "Don't be so selfish!" "Look, sister, Dad bought me some fishes" "I got a place in the School, didn't you?" "Sister, don't be so unhappy" "You can try again next time" "Sister, shall we feed the fishes?" "Don't bother me, leave me alone!" "Bing Bing, shall we go out?" "Yes, where are we going?" "Sister, it's beautiful!" " You like it here?" " Yes" "Shall we get out?" "Yes" "Sister!" "Be quick!" "Sister!" "Sister!" "Bing Bing!" "Bing Bing!" "Where's your little brother?" "Where did you take him?" "You were seen taking him on a bus" "Where did you take him?" "I'm asking you!" "Where did you take your brother?" "Sister!" "You scared Mama to death!" "Mama, I'm alright" "Tell Mama how did you get lost?" "I went out to play alone and I got lost" "Really?" "Really?" "Bing Bing hid the truth from Mama" "I felt so ashamed at what I'd done" "Seeing his innocent face for the first time since his birth I wanted to be close to him" "They say the outdoor cinema is being demolished" "Is it true?" "Are they going to build a factory?" "Yes, it's coming down tomorrow" "Tonight's will be the last show 'The Back Alley'" "You should all come if you can" "Dad, are you showing a movie tonight?" "Yes, do you want to come?" "Yes" "Fine, ask Mama to bring you after dinner" "The 'Big Movie World' will be demolished tomorrow" "Now there're TV sets and tape recorders in every home" "Nobody wants to see outdoor movies any more" "Alright, you finish eating" "I'll go to prepare the show" "Thank you" "Come and get changed" "Ling Ling, what are you doing?" "I want to come too" "Your exam is coming up" "Stay here and study" "Mama, can't sister come too?" "Quiet!" "But it's the last show tonight!" "You're entering the home straight" "You can't afford to relax now" "I want to go!" "Ling Ling, I have no more hopes for myself" "All my hopes are invested in you two" "There's more to life than watching movies" "Understand?" "But I must go!" "You have to listen to me" "But I really want to go!" ""Who taught you that?"" ""My mother taught me when I was little"" ""I was in kindergarten"" ""Those childhood years were so good"" ""Why do we have to grow up?"" ""We grow up because we eat"" "Mama locked me up at home" "But my heart flew to the outdoor cinema" "And I thought about Mao Xiaobing" "Remembering the times we watched movies from our perch" "Who is it?" "Open the door" "Officers" "What are you doing here?" "Oh, I'm..." "I'm feeding her fishes" "Feeding her fishes?" "I thought you didn't know her?" "It's true, I don't..." "Well, actually..." "Did you lie to us?" "No!" "Actually I did know her when she was young" "But I only realized that yesterday" "Make up your own story... go ahead!" "Hey boy, don't hurry" "Take your time" "We just want to find out if she has any relatives" "She seems to live alone" "We heard from the clinic today" "Apparently she's recovering" "Improving quite fast" "Really?" "She's explained what happened that day" "Do you know why she did it?" "Why?" "I'll tell you" "Your bike ran into a stack of bricks" "And her dog was right behind them" "The bricks fell and crushed her dog" "The incident triggered something in her head and she hit you with a brick" "I didn't see any dog" "Liu, over here" "There's a balcony out here" "These look like mine" "Yours?" "Looks like it" "What exactly is your relationship with her?" "Has she said that she knows me?" "No" "What's this all about?" "How are you involved?" "I'm asking you" "Now I get it!" "Hey, where are you going?" "Who do you want?" "Why have you come?" "I want to find out something about Ling Ling" "What about her?" "How did she lose her hearing?" "Uncle Pan told me that he was showing the last outdoor movie that night" "Mama, I want to go to the toilet" "I'll take you home" "No, Mama, I can go alone" "You stay here" " Are you sure?" " Yes" "Alright, take care and hu rry back" "Sister, sister..." "What are you doing back here?" "Sister, let's watch the movie together" "How did you get the key?" "I told Ma I needed to use the toilet" "So she gave me the key" "I'll take you to a nice place" "This is g reat!" "We can come here every day to watch the movies!" "No, the cinema will be torn down tomorrow" "Look through these" "Hey, let me see" "Sister, my turn" "Don't snatch!" "I haven't finished!" "Okay, all yours..." "I'm going" "Sister, don't go!" "I'm..." "I don't know why I was so heavy-handed" "My blow left her deaf" "And then she disappeared" "Didrt you look for her?" "We did all we could, but we never found her" "But recently someone's been sending us money..." "Husband, I'm back" "This is...?" "Auntie, it's me!" "Where is Ling Ling now?" "She's in a psychiatric clinic" "A clinic?" "A couple of days ago my bike ran into a stack of bricks" "The stack toppled and sadly killed her dog" "She suffered a big shock our dog went missing the other day..." "And it was found dead in a back-alley" "In all these years, I've learned to live alone" "No conversation" "No sound" "No communication at all" "One night I was taking out the garbage and I found a puppy in the bin" "Someone had dumped him" "I brought him home" "Gave him a bath" "And since he looked so smart I suddenly decided to call him Bing Bing" "Bing Bing stayed with me" "We lived together" "He's the only one who can read my thoughts and understand how I feel" "But when I look through the binoculars at my parents I see only two lonely faces" "I think maybe they need Bing Bing more than I do" "Who is it?" "So at last I understand what I did to Ling Ling" "Although at the time it happened I had no idea" "The clinic contacted us and said that we could visit Ling Ling" "We were so excited" "Her parents talked to the clinic" "They agreed to a treat for Ling Ling" "Her favorite... an outdoor movie show" "Sister, look at the goldfish!" "Look, sister, I have fishes too" "That boy over there gave them to me" "Sit down" "You're welcome" "Those two fishes almost died yesterday" "I thought I'd overfed them" "Then I realized I needed to change the water" "You see, I've already killed your dog by accident" "If I kill your fishes too I wouldn't be able to face you" "Sorry..." "I forgot, you can't hear me" "This is for you" "You recognize me, right?" "I was Mao Xiaobing!" "Now I'm Mao Dabing" "It's okay..." "Brother..." "What is it?" "Brother, there's a movie show over there" "Oh, a movie..." "Ling Ling, let's watch it" "Come on..." "The time of day I like best is just after sunset" "That's when they put up a screen" "Everyone brings their own stool" "And as darkness falls the movie begins" "The movie begins" "It takes me back to the great times I used to have with Mao Xiaobing and my parents" "That was a golden age for movies" "The people on screen, their images and voices brought us all together" "Breathing as one..." "Dreaming as one"