Keswick Film Club - Dear You

Synopsis

We finish our season with a Chinese drama for a change; during the Civil war in China, many Teochew-speaking Chinese fled to South East Asia, where they set up homes and continue to this day. Zheng Musheng was one of these, and his family back in China believe he has abandoned them for a successful life there. Their only contact with him are the occasional 'qiaopi' he sends to his wife, Ye Shurou - traditional letters with news and, importantly, money. This has all continued until now when his grandson, Xiaowei, in deep debt, travels to Thailand to find his 'rich' grandfather, but what he finds is far more complicated than his family thought.

Using a search through a collection of qiaopi he finds as a vehicle, the story transfers back to the 1950s. Just what did Musheng do then, and what happened to him? Teochew as a language is now spoken mainly by this diaspora of Chinese in Asia, though some still speak it in China. Despite the language, "Despite its modest budget, limited initial promotion and largely unknown cast, the movie became a major sleeper hit. It topped the mainland Chinese box office for four consecutive weeks and eventually grossed more than ¥1.8 billion, approximately US$280 million, making it one of the highest grossing Chinese releases of 2026" - Panos Kotzathanasis, Asian Movie Pulse.

Will we love it as much in Keswick? Let's hope so!