Xiao Wu is a petty thief in Beijing in the mid nineties when he suddenly realises that everyone and everything is changing around him, yet he is staying the same. This feeling is intensified when a former partner in crime, who has now become a successful businessman, is getting married, but won't invite Xiao Wu to the wedding. Xiao Wu tries to persuade him otherwise, offering a substantial sum of money as a wedding gift, but his friend turns the money down, claiming it is dirty. Things begin to look up when Xiao Wu meets Mei Mei, a karaoke girl, but life again smacks him in the face when she suddenly leaves to marry a rich man. Will he ever be able to dig himself out of the hole he is in?

For one reason or another, I have only recently got to see this film, directed and written by Zhang Ke Jia. As I lived in China for many years around the period that this film was made in 1997, I was interested to see how he portrayed life during that time. And I have to say that he has managed to capture the atmosphere of life at the time for the ordinary Chinese person - suddenly jobs and housing were not automatically given to them by the government, people actually had to choose their living. This had the effect of weeding out those who weren't good workers, but it also meant that those who didn't fit into the new society, like the Xiao Wu of the film, were sidelined and generally forgotten about, unless they committed a crime.

Zhang Ke Jia chose to make this film almost as if it were a documentary. None of the actors were well-known, they often appear to have never seen a camera before, and it almost seems as if it was made on somebody's home camcorder. I'm not sure, to be honest, how much of this is for effect and how much is because of the lack of funding for better equipment. Either way, I personally found it very pleasing to the eye. The shots of Beijing in the mid nineties are extremely realistic and the shakiness of the camera shots seems to intensify this. On the other hand, I am not sure how someone unfamiliar with China would take it, particularly if they are not really interested - for me, it was a trip down memory lane, for others, it could be intensely boring. I have to mention the music as well - popular music from the time that I was delighted to hear, but would be lost on anyone unfamilair with it.

Xiao Wu is played by a relative newcomer to film acting - at least he was at the time - Wang Hongwei. I thought he was perfect for the role. He spends most of the film looking totally lost and a little bit overwhelmed, but this is precisely what was needed, because Xiao Wu was feeling lost and bewildered. Every time he came on screen, I felt as if I was seeing something totally natural and very convincing. Even the way he looks is just right - from the glasses that are way too big for his face, the baggy, ill-fitting clothes and the way that he hunches as he walks. Quite how much he was acting, I can't judge, but for the role at hand, Wang gives a great performance - just as well because he is rarely off the screen.

Mei Mei, played by Hao Hongjian, is also good. She is portrayed as a tart with a heart - at first she comes across as being very hard and street-wise, but eventually, the softer side of her character comes out and it is easy to see why Xiao Wu fell for her. Although there aren't really any other serious characters, there is a whole host of friends, neighbours and relatives involved, and it really felt as though someone had just taken a camcorder down the hutongs (alleyways) of Beijing and had filmed at random. Everyone seemed completely believable and it was really a joy to watch.

I suppose what lets this film down is the story. The film is made documentary-style, the aim presumably being to show people what life was like for the ordinary person at the time. However, this does mean that the story isn't developed all that well. There is the love affair, which jazzes it up a little, but apart from that, it really is the story of an ordinary man trying to make ends meet in a society that he no longer understands. And the ending is quite abrupt and rather depressing. I personally didn't mind the story being like this - it felt very natural and realistic - but for anyone watching the film without an interest in China, I think they will feel cheated by the lack of the storyline.

There is a rating of 15 on the film, and I can only presume this is because of nudity - we are treated to a full frontal view of Xiao Wu's skinny body when he goes for a wash in the local baths. It isn't a pleasant sight, but nor is it particularly horrible. However, I doubt very much that anyone under the age of 15 would sit through more than the first ten minutes.

For anyone wondering about the Chinese language used in the film - it is in Mandarin Chinese, but because Xiao Wu is from Shanxi, the Mandarin has a strong accent. I could just about understand it, but I had to listen very carefully. The subtitles are good though - there are a few bits and pieces that weren't subtitled, but nothing that mattered very much - generally just background chatter.

I think that this film is likely to appeal to those with a strong interest in China, particularly anyone who visited or lived in China in the nineties, or possibly those with a strong interest in other cultures and are prepared to accept that not everything makes sense. If you do have such an interest, I think this film has a lot to offer. It is not particularly well made, but that is all part of its charm as far as I'm concerned.

The DVD is available from a site called Sensasian.com for $7.99 - I presume that is US dollars. It is more readily available in the UK from Amazon and Play.com as part of a double offering, including a film called Unknown Pleasures, for £17.99.

There are no DVD extras with this film; I am reviewing the film only.

Classification: 15

Running time: 105 minutes