Why Spring in a <i>Small Town</i> Still Matters

The 1948 classic Spring in a Small Town is considered the greatest Chinese film of all time. It’s a beautifully sad story of irreconcilable love, impossible hope, and the pull of an unwanted obligation. It also serves as a tremendously powerful metaphor for modern China.

Directed by Fei Mu, the story is set in the home of the once well-to-do Dai family, who have fallen on hard times since the Sino-Japanese War and now live in the crumbling ruins of their former glory. Dai Liyan is the head of the family, a spiritless curmudgeon whose health is in a state of disrepair every bit as awful as the family’s home. Liyan has decided to permanently resign himself to his fading home, where he waxes nostalgic for bygone days. Zhou Yuwen is his wife, and the narrator of the story, a gorgeous young woman whose marriage to Liyan no longer produces even a puff of emotion. After returning home one day from buying medicine for him, she tells us that when she sees her husband, they probably “won’t exchange even a single word before parting again.”

On this particular day, however, Liyan complains about his health, throws his medicine into a pile of broken bricks, and sulks. Then the couple has a surprisingly modern exchange.

“I’m a failure,” Liyan says, detailing how their marriage has gone awry. He adds, dispassionately, “I don’t know if it’s better if you leave me or if I leave you.”

“Don’t go on like this,” she snaps.

“We can’t go on like this,” he says. “We need to have a real discussion.”

Yuwen gives a wan smile and replies, “What is there to talk about? All you need to do is take good care of yourself.” Then she practically rolls her eyes and walks away.

But the plot takes a turn when Liyan’s old friend Zhang Zhichen, a Shanghai doctor, pays an unexpected visit. As it happens, Zhichen is Yuwen’s old lover, and Yuwen’s joy at his appearance is barely contained. The emotional tension plays out in Hitchcockian fashion.