I went into So Long, My Son, without any idea what it was really about or what to expect, only knowing the 3-hour runtime, and silently fearing that I was locking myself into something I would regret. What followed was one of the most memorable, captivating cinema experiences of my life. So Long, My Son is a beautiful, heart-breaking film set over many decades, portraying the fates of a pair of couples living in China between 1980s and present day. The film is deeply poetic, flowing freely between different times in the lives of its characters and constantly imbuing its plot with profound reminders of the past and the future.

The main couple’s tale is one of intensely painful loss: they grapple with China’s infamous one-child policy and a cruel twist of fate that can only be described as Shakespearean in its vindictiveness. Propelling their story are Wang Jingchun and Yong Mei, simply exceptional in the lead roles. I can count on my fingers the number of performances I’ve seen that match the dedication, sensitivity and truthfulness of the pair of actors. In other hands, their story might verge on the melodramatic. But such is the potency of their portrayals that their lives become impossible to disbelieve.

The couple age across the film; I’ve never seen actors more capable of capturing the subtlety of the effects of ageing, not to mention the precise relationship between the eternal sting of immense grief and the dulling fog of time passing. Director Wang Xiaoshuai expertly navigates the vastness of the film, allowing the slippage of characters and times to blur together but never to confuse. If he can be criticised of one thing, it is that he’s made a film that is very difficult to watch: it’s as emotionally exhausting a picture as I can remember. That said, it’s well, well worth it. A true masterpiece, driven by a pair of great lead performances, that I hope one day is given the credit it deserves. 

EveryFilmIWatch is multi-channel film review project run by Sebastian Cox, ScriptUp co-founder. Further reviews can be found on Instagram.