AllMovie

Structured in three parts to highlight the growing fissure between the past and the present, the desperation of the locals, and the plight of the abandoned, director Zhao Dayong's documentary offers a poignant snapshot of a town haunted by the ghosts of the past, and devoid of any discernible future. Venture deep into Southwest China, and eventually you'll come across Zhiziluo, a town populated by lost souls, and seemingly frozen in time. Here, Christian pastor Yuehan clashes with his father, John the Elder, about the future of their local church, Pu Biqui ponders leaving his lover to seek work in the city (despite the very likely prospect that she will be sold into marriage in his absence), and 12-year-old Ah Long scavenges for food on a daily basis.