Film Review

This is a funny comedy in the road-trip genre set in contemporary China. The two main characters are Li Chenggong ("success"), a cold, ruthless CEO of a toy company, and Geng Niu ("follow cow"?), a recently unemployed, uneducated, country-bumkin dairy worker. Through circumstance beyond their control, the odd couple become travel companions on their way to Chongqing(?) from Beijing during Chinese New Year. Chenggong is making his once-a-year trip home to his wife and daughter (leaving behind his big-city girl friend). Geng Niu is going there to collect on a debt. Along the way the two experience adventures and misadventures of the most unpredictable (and funny!) kind, and gradually gain sympathy for the other person. By the end of the movie both will learn valuable lessons about each other, other people, and themselves.

Potential Scenes/Themes for the Secondary Social Studies Class...

1. The chaos associated with traveling in China during the New Year season (airport, train, bus, and farm equipment scenes).
2. The economic divide between the rich and the poor in China (the way Chenggong flashes his wealth vs. the begger woman)
3. The economic and social differences between urban and rural China today (backdrop of the big city vs. farm village)
4. Issues arising out of the clash between traditional Chinese and modern "western" values (e.g., obligation to family, especially wife, and having a girl friend on the side).

Don't think there's a chance you can just show small snippets of this film and be done with it. It's too funny. Students will demand you to show the entire movie. I might offer it for viewing during lunch time or after school (for extra credit?).

Submitted for your approval (and enjoyment)...