Testing time for families appeals to viewers
Print Edition
FOLLOWING the success of the 2016 urban family drama “A Love for Separation,” Linmon Pictures has presented “A Little Reunion,” the second installment of a trilogy focusing on China’s education system.
Since its debut on Dragon TV on July 31, the 49-episode realistic series has turned out to be a hit and aroused heated discussion online.
It scored 8.1 out of 10 on China’s film and TV review website Douban and has already received more than 1.1 billion views on Tencent’s v.qq.com.
Based on a novel by Lu Yingong, the series is centered on three families in Beijing whose children will take the National College Entrance Examination in only nine months. It is also a story about parenthood and mid-life crisis.
The Fang family has a “tiger mother” and “cat father.” Their son is naughty. To save more time for study and rest, the “tiger mother” moves to an expensive apartment just a few minutes’ walk from the school.
In the Ji family, the parents have to first mend their relationship with their son after years of absence because of work. They take up their son’s hobby of car racing to get close to his heart.
The Qiao’s family has a daughter who is good at study.
But every day she is under the pressure from her tough and anxious mother, and gives up her hobbies to please her.
The series stars veteran performing artists, including Yong Mei, who won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival; Huang Lei, formerly a teacher from Beijing Film Academy; and famous actress Tao Hong. Huang is also the chief scriptwriter of the series.
He said he has also incorporated his own reflections on education into the story.
Huang believes a healthy personality is more important for growing children than good scores.
He urged parents to give their children more respect, trust and understanding.
According to director Wang Jun, the stories of the three families were selected from interviews with several hundred families in China.
“They resonate well with the viewers because they are true stories happening around us,” Wang said.
“Many heart-warming scenes of the drama were shot with tears.”
The director also noted that the purpose of the series is not to judge any of the educational models but to inspire people to find the proper one for their own children.
Many viewers are touched by the drama’s realism and cinematography.
Netizen “Bingyingruoyi” said on Douban that the series portrays many typical Chinese parents. They are devoted and thoughtful, and they all have deep love for their children.
But parenthood is a lifelong topic and career for them.
The series is also expected to be marketed overseas.
In recent years, more and more Chinese series have gained wide attention and accolades from foreign viewers for their good plots, exquisite scenes and cinematography.
Productions such as “Princess Agents,” “A Love for Separation,” “Legend of Fu Yao” and “Novoland: Eagle Flag” have raised overseas interest in Chinese dramas.
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