Le Veilleur

The plot summary presented by PÖLP turns out to be quite misleading. I went to the cinema with the false expectation of a poignant, heart-wrenching film, but instead I watched a cheerful, heart-warming one. It was the parents' idea to send their son abroad, and the dominant affection and emotion in this film is the care and love between the boy Zhao-Hang and his parents. Furthermore, Zhao-Hang, who is supposed to be the protagonist of the film, actually has a small, supportive role in the film, leaving the majority to his parents and how they connect in their "separate lives" - they live separately in their respective dormitories due to their jobs and meet regularly in a poetic and communicative way, as the film suggests.

There are also a number of errors in the subtitles, some of which may be completely irrelevant to the original lines, which I think contribute to PÖLP's misrepresentation of the plot summary. Apart from the Chinese lines, the English lines also clash with the subtitles - I suspect this is because the English subtitles were translated from the original French. As a native Chinese speaker, I would suggest that the project team proofread and correct the subtitles.

All in all, I found this loving and gentle documentary charming, capturing the moments of wisdom, absurdity, humour, sorrow, loneliness, joy, etc. In the daily life of an ordinary yet special Chinese family.