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Zhang Yimou's love letter to cinema smuggled past the censors—barely.
Indie
TMDB
73
Rotten Tomatoes
100
Audience Score
75
Watch(GB)

One Second (2020)

wistfuldust-sweptrebellious

Overview

Drama

A movie fan escapes from a labour camp during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and strikes up a relationship with a homeless female vagabond.

Flag of CNCNFlag of HKHKChinese
Content warning
based on novel or book

Standout Aspects

Direction

Zhang Yimou at his most personal and politically defiant.

Cinematography

Gobi Desert as beautiful, unforgiving character.

Acting

Liu Haocun's debut—feral, heartbreaking, star-making.

Best for:Solo: When you need to ugly-cry about movies about movies.·Rewatch: Spot what Chinese censors made Zhang Yimou delete.
Heads up:Emotional: Cultural Revolution suffering, family separation, bittersweet ending.
Zhang Yimou

Director

Zhang Yimou

ReleasedNov 27, 2020
Runtime1h 44m
StatusReleased

Vibe

Pacesteady
Intensitymedium
Tonemixed
Feelheavy
Budget$1.3M·Revenue$10.8M
Edko Films
Huanxi Media

Top Cast

Zhang Yi

Zhang Yi

Fugitive

Liu Haocun

Liu Haocun

Orphan Liu

Fan Wei

Fan Wei

Mr. Movie

Li Yan

Li Yan

Yang He

Li Xiaochuan

Li Xiaochuan

Cook

Yu Yang

Yu Yang

Truck Driver

Cao Rui

Cao Rui

Mr. Movie's Son

Ask about One Second

Opens AI chat

Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Cultural

Zhang Yimou lived through the Cultural Revolution; this was pulled from Berlinale 2019 for 'technical difficulties'—read: political sensitivity.

1 item hidden due to spoilers
YouTube

Official Trailer

Official Trailer

Gallery

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