This Worldly Life

Story

The Buddhist monk Shuangquan is having to come to terms with the disintegration of his world: his abbot has fled, swindlers disguised as monks have turned up in the area and are robbing the faithful and the area where the temple stands has been approved for demolition. Reason enough for Shuangquan to leave his religious life behind him and start an extremely secular life among petty criminals and prostitutes. Yet he keeps searching for his place in the world. Di Yixiang’s impressive debut casts a melancholy look at the changing face of China and finds an ideal mirror for the sadness of his pictures in the face of his lead actor. This film is part of the special series “Chinese Independent Cinema”.

Director

ZHAI YIXIANG (*1987) belongs to a new generation of Chinese independent directors. His debut This Wordly Life was shown in 2014 at FILMFEST HAMBURG Mosaic Portrait is his second feature film.