Exploring a Painful Past

• 💡 Filmmaker Tian Macleod Ji embarks on a journey with his great uncle, Ji Zhihao, to explore painful memories of China's Maoist past.
• 📸 The narrative uses faded photographs to symbolize the obscured and lost details of his uncle's youth, highlighting a lonely figure lost in a vast expanse.

The Rustication Movement

• 🎯 Ji Zhihao was one of 17 million "rusticated youths" sent to the countryside by Chairman Mao.
• 📜 This program aimed to re-educate urban youths by hardworking peasants and curb the violence of the Red Guards.
• 🌍 While some went to nearby farms, youths from large cities like Shanghai, including Ji Zhihao, were sent far away, in his case, to Xinshuguang near the Siberian border.

Life in Xinshuguang

• 🚂 Ji Zhihao's journey to Xinshuguang took three days, marking a significant displacement from his home on Chongming Island.
• 🏡 The film documents his return journey to this village, allowing him to revisit the place where he was re-educated.

The Impact of Reëducation

• ⚠️ The re-education program was eventually ended due to waves of protests, allowing most participants to return home.
• 🔄 Many youths, including Ji Zhihao, had to begin their lives again after years spent in rural poverty.

Return and Reflection

• 🔍 The filmmaker revisits the initial three images of his uncle, finding that together they reveal a clearer truth about his experience.
• 🧠 The journey serves as a way to understand the tender bonds and painful memories associated with this period in Chinese history.