In Inner Mongolia in the early 1990s, 12-year-old Xiaolei enjoys summer with his father, who works at a film studio, and his education-minded mother. But life is rapidly changing, as stable jobs at state-owned companies disappear. Hohhot-born director Zhang Dalei, who was inspired by “the magic of a daydream” he experienced while visiting his grandmother, has created a portrait of his country’s past, in beautiful monochrome. Distancing itself from the nostalgic tone of popular teen dramas, the film presents a boy’s detached view of the world. Pema Tseden, of Old Dog and Tharlo, is the executive producer.

In a small town in western China in the early 1990s, after finishing primary school, Xiaolei looks forward to his long-awaited summer vacation, free of homework. However, this hot summer is not the usual leisurely summer he imagines, as it coincides with the transformation of state-owned companies and the loss of job security. While Xiaolei and his friends idle away the days, the shock of the reformation of state-owned enterprises sees his parents, seemingly calm in the blazing sunshine, seething wg with inner anxiety. As time passes, Xiaolei has a feeling that a revolution has quietly taken place. His father has to become a migrant worker to make a living, with the mother and son relying on each other. Xiaolei feels that life has changed completely. One night at the beginning of autumn, the epiphyllum in Xiaolei’s yard blooms, as if it were an apocalypse.

[Director's Message]
One Sunday a number of years ago, I had lunch at my grandma's home, which I rarely visited. I watched my mother spoon-feeding my grandma who was 80 years old and paralyzed in bed. Suddenly, I felt like a lifetime had passed. Back to the summer of 1994, grandma's mother was paralyzed in bed. Her daughter was holding her back and feeding her the liquid food, just like what was happening in front of me. At that moment, I seemed to hear pop music from the 1980s and the train whistle from far away. The magic of a daydream inspired me to decide to shoot a film.