Call of the home village = Xiang qing

Qiuyue’s adopted son, Tiangui is going to marry her daughter, Cuicui. But Tiangui’s biological parents have now learnt where their estranged son is and are against the marriage. Qiuyue sends Tiangui back to his parents, who joined the revolution in the early years and are now senior officials living in the city. Tiangui’s mother is excited to see her son and arrange everything for him to begin a new life. Tiangui is not comfortable with the easy life and misses his foster mum and fiancée in the country. Tiangui’s mother tries all means to prevent her son going back, and she wants Tiangui to marry the daughter of a colleague. Noticing the problem, Tiangui’s father blames his wife and asks Tiangui to invite Qiuyue and Cuicui to their home. However, Tiangui’s mother sends a letter to Qiuyue, telling her that only Cuicui is invited. Tiangui would not go without Qiuyue, and Qiuyue eventually compromises. At Tiangui’s home, Qiuyue accidentally finds out that Tiangui’s parents are the couple that she saved years ago. She did not tell the truth to her children but chose to leave without letting anybody know.

Similar to The Green Mountain of Bamboo (1982), this film also deals with young people’s free love. Traditionally in China, a couple’s marriage would be arranged by their parents. Very often, the couple would have no chance to meet with each other before their wedding day. Arranged marriage is regarded as a “feudal concept” and thus criticized by the CCP. Produced in the early 1980s, this film delivers a message to the audience that CCP members must not be corrupted by feudal ideas. (2 stars - Yuxing Zhou; December 16, 2010)