AllMovie

A state holiday leaves a handful of people with a day to fill on their own in this languid and low-key comedy-drama from author turned filmmaker Li Hongqi. The Chinese government has declared an official national holiday to give the people a day of rest and relaxation, but with an empty schedule, a handful of folks find themselves with little to do and few ideas about how to pass the time. A father and his emotionally blank son take a walk while the boy looks after a strange creature he keeps as a pet and carries with him in a bucket. The father and son pay a visit to a friend who lives in the upstairs apartment, only to find he already has guests -- a friend who is foul mood because his girlfriend has broke off their relationship that morning, and another neighbor who is under the weather. Brought together, the acquaintances swap stories, tell jokes and try to make the time move more quickly, but they're at a loss to make sense of their day of freedom. Huangjin Zhou (aka Routine Holiday) was an official selection at the 2008 London Film Festival. Hongqi, Lio