The Summer Is Gone

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The Summer is Gone
The Summer Is Gone - Ba Yue .jpg
Theatrical release poster
Traditional Chinese 八月
Hanyu Pinyin bāyuè
Jyutping baat3 jyut6
Directed byZhang Dalei
Written byZhang Dalei
Produced byMai Lisi
Zhao Yanming
Suo Yiluo
StarringKong Weiyi
Zhang Chen
Guo Yanyun
CinematographyLv Songye
Edited byZhang Dalei
Release dates
  • 23 July 2016 (2016-07-23)
  • 24 March 2017 (2017-03-24)(China)
Running time
106 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin

The Summer is Gone is a 2016 Chinese drama film written and directed by Zhang Dalei. At the 2016 Golden Horse Awards the film won 3 awards for Best Feature Film, Best New Performer and the FIPRESCI Prize. [1] It is scheduled for release in China on 24 March 2017. [2] The film won the Grand Prix award at the 24th Beijing College Student Film Festival.

Contents

Plot

In the early 1990s, in a small western town, Zhang Xiaolei, who had just finished his entrance exam for junior high school, finally welcomed the long-awaited summer vacation without homework. However, this free and hot summer was not as lively as imagined. Instead, it was filled with repetitive family life and plenty of free time. Coincidentally, that year, the country began to implement the transformation of state-owned enterprises, breaking the iron rice bowl. Zhang Xiaolei's father's unit was also impacted by the reform, affecting the lives of every family in their residential compound.

Children were bored all day long, while seemingly calm adults' hearts were as hot as the scorching sun due to the changes. Zhang Xiaolei quietly endured, sensing the subtle changes happening around him. It wasn't until his father, in pursuit of a better life, left for a distant place, leaving only his mother and him behind, that Zhang Xiaolei truly felt the passage of time and the transformation of life.

On the night of the beginning of autumn, the night-blooming cereus in Zhang Xiaolei's yard quietly bloomed, as if implying something.... [3]

Cast

Awards and nominations

Award ceremonyCategoryRecipientsResult
53rd Golden Horse Awards Best Feature FilmThe Summer Is GoneWon
Best New DirectorZhang DaleiNominated
Best New PerformerKong WeiyiWon
Best Original ScreenplayZhang DaleiNominated
Best CinematographySongye LüNominated
Best Sound EffectsChen Xu

Xiaodan Li

Qiuhui Gao

Dong Ren

Nominated
17th Chinese Film Media Awards [4] Best DirectorZhang DaleiNominated
Best New DirectorNominated
24th Beijing College Student Film Festival Best FilmThe Summer Is GoneNominated
Jury AwardZhang DaleiWon
Best DirectorNominated
Best NewcomerKong WeiyiNominated
Artistic Exploration AwardThe Summer Is GoneNominated

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References

  1. "The Summer Is Gone". IMDb . Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  2. "八月 (2016)". movie.douban.com (in Chinese). douban.com . Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  3. "'The Summer Is Gone' ('Ba Yue'): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  4. "第17届华语电影传媒盛典公布提名名单". Mtime (in Chinese). August 29, 2017.