When I saw this film, I didn't know it was by the director (Ye Lou) who also did another of one of my favorite films, Suzhou River.

Wonder of wonder, both of these films are miraculously in rottentomatoes' database. Not sure why these, and not the so many other Asian films that are in imdb.

In a nutshell, the film traces the emotional path of a woman who attends university in China leading up to the Tiananmen Student Massacre, and then for many years afterwards. The Tiananmen Student Massacre is not the central focal point of this film, but the woman's emotional journey.

It's a slow, meditative, philosophical film in the same vein as "Suzhou River", so no wonder I like both movies. The plotline is only a vehicle for the emotional contours laid out, and that's what the film does best. It focuses on the unbearableness of desire and love, and the ephemeral wanting.

At more than 2 hours long, it requires a little patience. Just settling back and accepting its length.