The Song of Life

Two teenagers, Lu Ang and Yu Ming, come from troubled family backgrounds. Lu Ang’s middle-class family struggles with a lack of communication, while Yu Ming’s single father resorts to violence to “teach” him. Both boys share a sense of loneliness, which deepens when they save a transfer student, Zheng Wanhe, from campus violence. The three form a bond and join the school chorus. However, their families face major crises: looming divorces, grandparents falling victim to scams, and personal trauma. As they navigate these challenges, Lu Ang and Yu Ming gain a new understanding of life, friendship, and identity. The film addresses significant social issues such as bullying, child abuse, and the emotional toll of growing up in a society fraught with pressure, offering a poignant exploration of adolescence in modern China.

“China’s first gay fantasy film, an absurd film noir,” and calling it, “a salute to the American film maker Quentin Tarantino,” the love triangle of a fellow soldier and a fiancé vie for the officer’s attention and affection in a totally improvised film without any script during the shooting. All scenes and actors’ lines are all dependent upon director’s on-site guidance, The result is something that pushes the boundaries of traditional film making.

This is China’s first gay mystical film. On a quiet afternoon, we meet a character as he wakes up, aware of that he is dying. He is taken to the hospital, resuscitated and then taken back home. This fantasy story begins with that the mysterious afternoon…