How Long Is “11 Flowers”?

Chinese filmmaker Wang Xiaoshuai directed and co-wrote this evocative drama of life in the waning days of the Cultural Revolution. It's the mid-'70s, and 11-year-old Wang Han (Liu Wenquing) is adjusting to life in a new town; under government orders, his father (Wang Jinchun) left his job in a coastal city and has relocated to a factory in a run-down inland community. While Wang Han, his mother (Yen Ni), and his younger sister (Zhao Shiqi) strive to make the best of their new circumstances, his father's busy schedule means they rarely see him, and they're on a tighter budget than ever before. The family's finances become an issue for Wang Han when he's chosen to lead the exercises in his physical-education class and is told he'll need a new shirt for the occasion; the shirt in question will use up the family's entire fabric ration for the year, and his mother is openly resentful over what she sees as a foolish use of their resources. Although Wang Han gets his shirt, it's soon stolen from him, and his search for it leads him to a young man named Jueqiang (Wang Ziyi), who is hiding from the police in the woods following a violent act of defiance against the authorities. Wo 11 (aka 11 Flowers) received its North American premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.