Brief History of a Family (Jiating jianshi)

Although set-in present-day China there’s a distinctly sci-fi and dystopian tone about A Brief History of a Family. The repercussions of the one child rule, the new policy that some are keen to follow, the pristine apartments and buildings plus eclectic score, serve to take it out of time.

Shuo (Sun Xilun) is befriended by Wei (Lin Muran) after helping him while he recovers from an accident. Shuo appears naturally shy but when he’s introduced to Wei’s parents Mr and Mrs Tu (Zu Feng and Guo Keyu respectively) he’s comfortable enough to talk about the death of his mother and his abusive father.

Impressed by his aspirations the Tu’s take to Shuo, to the detriment of their relationship to Wei, who begins to feel second class. Academically he isn’t on Shou’s level but is a successful fencer, which cuts little ice with his parents. The family structure begins to fracture as the elder Tu’s look back at past decisions, and their consequences.

There’s some discourse regarding the effectiveness of China’s one child policy, its long-term effect, and the lifting of the restriction, which is interesting and provides some insight. But in writer and director Lin Jianjie’s film, the uncharismatic figure of Shuo is the main intrigue.

He appears seemingly from nowhere with a heartbreaking story and is taken in by people who have a veneer of assurance yet are vulnerable because of past decisions. Consciously or not Shuo becomes embedded into the family structure.

The mystery is Shuo and what (if anything) he is up to. Is he sincere? His mother’s death arouses sympathy with the Tu’s but despite trying none of them were able to meet his father before his drunken death. Digging deeper what are we to make of the scene where Shou watches a fish suffer? Wei sees this and makes his own assumption, only to be roundly rejected.

The film is quite slow though the rigid beauty of the direction and camerawork coupled with an excellent sound design help it along. The performances are to an extent understated yet empathetic apart from Shuo who from the first scene is a troubling enigma.

Brief History of a Family will be in UK cinemas on 21 March and Irish cinemas on 26 March from Blue Finch Film Releasing.