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Brief History of a Family

Play trailer Poster for Brief History of a Family 2024 1h 39m Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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92% Tomatometer 38 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Ratings
After the one-child policy ends in China, a middle-class family's fate becomes intertwined with their only son's enigmatic new friend. Unspoken secrets, unmet expectations and untended emotions are put under the microscope.

Critics Reviews

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Donald Clarke Irish Times Mar 25
4/5
The film does not quite pull off its enigmatic ending, but this remains a startlingly eerie debut that finds new angles to a familiar genre. Go to Full Review Leslie Felperin Guardian Mar 20
5/5
It’s so exquisitely balanced that it’s able to keep reconfiguring itself with the merest breeze into a whole new arrangement of shapes that’s just as pleasing and abstract as the last. Go to Full Review Alexandra Heller-Nicholas AWFJ.org 06/18/2024
It might not have the climactic whistles and bells of Parasite or Saltburn, but in this instance anything else would feel almost dishonest; this is a careful, considered film of enormous intelligence and emotional resonance Go to Full Review Eulàlia Iglesias Fotogramas Jul 3
4/5
'Brief History of a Family' is an accurate portrayal of class dynamics in a supposedly communist country, which also reveals a filmmaker with great potential. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Tom Dawson Radio Times Apr 1
4/5
This scrupulously controlled and impressively acted debut feature from Chinese film-maker Lin Jianjie peers beneath the façade of an affluent middle-class family, which has abided by the country's one-child policy. Go to Full Review Saskia Baron The Arts Desk Mar 24
2/5
...the focus on cutting-edge technology and luxurious lifestyles means that the lasting impression Brief History of a Family makes is of a film made for the international art house market... Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Cast & Crew

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Jianjie Lin

Director

Feng Zu

Tu Wei's Father

Guo Ke-Yu

Actor

Xilun Sun

Actor

Muran Lin

Actor

Jianjie Lin

Screenwriter

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Brief History of a Family

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Movie Info

Synopsis After the one-child policy ends in China, a middle-class family's fate becomes intertwined with their only son's enigmatic new friend. Unspoken secrets, unmet expectations and untended emotions are put under the microscope.
Director
Jianjie Lin
Producer
Ying Lou, Zheng Yue, Yiwen Wang
Screenwriter
Jianjie Lin
Production Co
First Light Pictures (Chengdu)
Genre
Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
Chinese
Runtime
1h 39m