Under the Hawthorn Tree

Under the Hawthorn Tree (2010) is a Chinese feature film directed by Zhang Yimou.

Under the Hawthorn Tree is suitable for middle and senior secondary students undertaking English, History, Literature, Media and Chinese.

Language: Mandarin with English subtitles

Length: 115 minutes.

Synopsis

Under the Hawthorn Tree is based on the novel Hawthorn Tree Forever by acclaimed author Ai Mi. Three million copies of the novel, an adaptation of a true story, have been sold since it was first published in 2007.

Jing, an innocent high school city girl, is sent to a remote mountain village for reeducation during the Cultural Revolution. With her father imprisoned as a rightist, her ostracised mother struggles to support her three children. Jing knows that her future and her family's wellbeing depend on her behaviour. One wrong move and the authorities could destroy their lives.

It is at the mountain village, that Jing meets and falls in love with Sun, who is working as a geologist in the village. Sun is older than Jing and the son of an elite military family. Given the difference in their social backgrounds, romance between the two is not only unthinkable, it is dangerous. But their mutual attraction is undeniable. At first Jing tries to resist but Sun pursues her relentlessly, even after she returns to the city. Their romance blossoms - pure, passionate and in secret. No one must know; least of all Jing's mother whose only desire is that her daughter ensures a future for herself at all cost.

Then Sun disappears. When he reenters her life, Jing sees that something has changed. She is forced to confront her ideas about love, honor, and loyalty, to decide what she truly believes in.