Ma sai ke shao nu

While her friend wants to fall in love, get married and do nothing, 14-year-old Jing dreams of living a different life elsewhere. Her troubling escapism also reflects the wretched fact that she has suddenly found herself pregnant. When she makes a surprising revelation as to the identity of the unborn child’s father, the quest for justice begins. This diaphanously hypnotic cinematic tale, conveyed more through contemplative silence than words, doesn’t offer a clear-cut plot; rather it examines the way in which a shocking act convulses the microcosm of a small town. The young Chinese director looks to the 6th Generation filmmakers, taking impressionistic fragments to craft an unsettling image of the injured heroine, who remains proud and strong. Even so, she still finds herself mired in a deep chasm of alienation. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)