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Filmstill No Changes Have Taken In Our Life

No Changes Have Taken In Our Life

Hai nei yang
Xu Jingwei
International Competition Animated Film 2023
Animated Film
China
2022
43 minutes
Chinese
Subtitles: 
English

After the graduation ceremony, Ba, a young musician, leaves the hall with his tuba over the shoulder. At the door he meets his teacher who makes him promise something: report back as soon as he has found a job. As nobody picks him up at the student residence, Ba makes his own way through the barren rural area. Home at last, he discovers that his father has found a new wife who now lives with him. There is no more room for Ba. He leaves his former home and sets out to look for a job. Various futile attempts to find employment follow, first as a musician, then unrelated to his training. All efforts fail in the face of the absurd requirements of potential employers. Ba would first have to buy an expensive suit and could expect to get wages only after an unpaid initial phase, as he was still a beginner. Ba can only fend off his teacher’s intrusive questions by inventing white lies.

This world, where there is not a shred of green landscape left, where the plaster crumbles from the walls, where everything is falling apart, has no use for the musician Ba. His daily expenses consume his last bit of money. Hopes of happiness and being able to earn his living fade away. Ba’s tuba falls silent.

Franka Sachse

Credits DOK Leipzig Logo

Director
Xu Jingwei
Producer
Yang Leiting, Yang Xintong
Animation
Yang Leiting
World Sales
Shuting Li
Winner of: Golden Dove Feature-Length Film (International Competition Animated Film)