In this coming of age story, the film 11 Flowers is based
upon the director’s life, 11 year old Wang Xioaoshuai has been asked to lead his school’s daily
gymnastics exercises. For this honor,
his teachers asks that he wear a new white shirt. With the strict rationing during the latter
days of China’s Cultural Revolution, his mother says no. Upon seeing how important it is to her son,
she softens, buying him the shirt. Two
days later, he misplaces the shirt, finds it, then it is stolen from him. This leads to an encounter with a desperate
man on the run with both characters fates coming together, one losing his life,
the other his childhood.
This movie is
beautifully shot in rural China. The
film was nominated for five awards for acting and best picture at various Asian
movie festivals.