Shower / Xizao (1999)

Shenzhen businessman, Da Ming, goes home to Beijing when he thinks his father has died. He finds his father hard at work at the family's bathhouse (the false message was a ruse of Da's mentally-handicapped, exuberant brother, Er Ming, to get Da home). Da stays a couple days, observing his father being social director, marriage counselor, and dispute mediator for his customers and a boon companion to Er. Da is caught between worlds: the decaying district of his childhood and the booming south where he now lives with a wife who's not met his family. When Da realizes his father's health is failing and the district is slated for razing, he must take stock of family and future.

Daming est originaire de Pékin mais vit à Shenzhen, un grand centre économique du sud du pays, où il est devenu un homme d'affaires brillant. Il reçoit un jour une lettre de son jeune frère handicapé mental, Erming. Le courrier contient un dessin montrant le père des deux hommes allongés, et le jeune Erming avec un regard triste. Daming comprend que son père est décédé et rentre à Pékin en catastrophe pour se rendre dans le bain public que tient son père avec son frère. Surprise… Son père est en parfaite santé et tient son établissement avec courage.

* Director: Zhang Yang
* Main Cast: Jiayi Du, Bing He, Wu Jiang, Ding Li