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Above the Dust

Play trailer Above the Dust 2024 2h 2m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Ten-year-old Wo Tu dreams of having a water pistol like other boys in his village. Even though his father promised, he fails to bring one from the city. But there is one hope for Wo Tu: his dying grandfather assures him to grant him the wish as a ghost. After his death, the old man visits the boy in his dreams, initiating a treasure hunt. Soon, the limits between reality and dream, past and present, become more and more blurred. A portrait of the profound love for the land, across three generations of a family in modern Chinese rural life.

Critics Reviews

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Whang Yee Ling The Straits Times (Singapore) Apr 25
4/5
Renegade auteur Wang tills blood-stained history for a tragic tale on rural displacement. Go to Full Review Clarence Tsui South China Morning Post 05/09/2024
3.5/5
Wang’s decision to reinvent his cinematic language certainly deserves some praise, but he seems yet to find a neat balance between all the different tones and styles he tries to apply to his story. Go to Full Review Stephen Saito Moveable Fest 02/26/2024
Wang comes up with a novel way to tell a story of incredible ambition in his latest drama, charting the toll of sudden modernization in China. Go to Full Review Lee Marshall Screen International 02/21/2024
In sixth generation director Wang Xiaoshuai’s bittersweet adaptation of a short story by Li Shijiang, this sliver of a tale grows into a resonant parable of what China has lost in its drive for modernisation. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Cast & Crew

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Wang Xiaoshuai

Director

Ouyang Wenxin

Wo Tu

Yong Mei

Muyue

Feng Zu

Chuan

Jun Li

Grandfather

Zichuan Wang

Jiu

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Movie Info

Synopsis Ten-year-old Wo Tu dreams of having a water pistol like other boys in his village. Even though his father promised, he fails to bring one from the city. But there is one hope for Wo Tu: his dying grandfather assures him to grant him the wish as a ghost. After his death, the old man visits the boy in his dreams, initiating a treasure hunt. Soon, the limits between reality and dream, past and present, become more and more blurred. A portrait of the profound love for the land, across three generations of a family in modern Chinese rural life.
Director
Wang Xiaoshuai
Producer
Xuan Liu
Screenwriter
Wang Xiaoshuai
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Chinese
Runtime
2h 2m