A Fool
China • 1h 36m
Directed by Jianbin Chen • Drama • With Jianbin Chen, Jiang Qinqin, Wang Xuebing, Jin Shijia • 2014 • 97 minutes
Based on Hu Xuewen's novella "Running Moonlight", a Chinese shepherd tries to enlist help in getting his son released from prison; when a wandering stranger enters his life, diverting his focus and creating chaos with his plans.
“A shepherd (Jianbin) whose son has been arrested turns to a local gangster (Wang Xuebing of Black Coal, Thin Ice) for help, though this effort is complicated by a simpleminded tramp to whom the protagonist showed a speck of kindness at the outset. At first the shepherd is annoyed by the tramp’s attachment to him and his Muslim wife, but eventually he realizes that the fool has more decency than most people he knows, including the public officials who don’t seem to care if the disadvantaged live or die.” —Leah Pickett, Chicago Reader
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