Youth (Homecoming)

Youth (Homecoming)
Promotional release poster
Chinese青春：归
Directed byWang Bing
Produced by
  • Sonia Buchman
  • Mao Hui
  • Nicolas R. de la Mothe
  • Vincent Wang
Cinematography
  • Shan Xiaohui
  • Song Yang
  • Ding Bihan
  • Liu Xianhui
  • Maeda Yoshitaka
  • Wang Bing
Edited by
  • Dominique Auvray
  • Xu Bingyuan
  • Liyo Gong
Production
companies
  • House on Fire
  • Gladys Glover
  • CS Production
  • Arte France Cinéma
  • Les Films Fauves
  • Volya Films
  • Eastern-Lion Pictures and Culture Media Co.
  • Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation
  • Le Fresnoy
Distributed byPyramide (Worldwide)
Release date
  • 6 September 2024 (2024-09-06) (Venice)
Running time
152 minutes
Countries
  • China
  • France
  • Luxembourg
  • Netherlands
LanguageMandarin

Youth (Homecoming) (Chinese: 青春：归; pinyin: Qing chun gui) is a 2024 internationally co-produced documentary film directed by Wang Bing. It's the third installment in the director's Youth trilogy, about young Chinese textile industry workers, following 2023's Youth (Spring) and 2024's Youth (Hard Times).[1][2]

The film had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, where it was the only documentary competing for the Golden Lion.[3]

Premise

Textile workshops in Zhili slow their operation for the New Year's holiday, with many workers returning home. Shi Wei and Fang Lingping both get married over the break, with the latter's new husband, an information technology specialist, planning to join his new bride in Zhili.[4]

Release

Youth (Homecoming) premiered in September 2024 as a main competition entry at that year's Venice Film Festival. It follows the release of the prior films in the trilogy; Youth (Spring) debuted at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, while Youth (Hard Times) premiered at the 77th Locarno Film Festival in August 2024.[3]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of 15 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10.[5] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 81 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[6]

Accolades

Award Ceremony date Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Venice Film Festival 7 September 2024 Golden Lion Youth (Homecoming) Nominated [3]
Asia Pacific Screen Awards 30 November 2024 Best Documentary Film Wang Bing, Sonia Buchman, Mao Hui, Nicolas R De La Mothe, Vincent Wang Nominated [7]

References

  1. ^ "Youth (Homecoming)". Film Fund Luxembourg. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  2. ^ Balaga, Marta. "Wang Bing Talks Continuing 'Youth,' Finally Feeling 'Satisfied' With His Films: 'You Learn to Respect Them'". Variety. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Cuevas, David (23 July 2024). "Venice Announces Documentary Lineup: Wang Bing, Alex Ross Perry, and Elizabeth Lo to Compete". POV Magazine. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Youth (Homecoming)". See NL. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Youth". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 12 November 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  6. ^ "Youth". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  7. ^ "17th ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED". Asia Pacific Screen Awards. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2024.