Spring Tide

Running time: 124 mins

A cultural sweep of China through three generations of women.

Guo Jianbo is a 40-something journalist who writes about social issues. She is a single mother who lives with her extrovert and domineering, divorced mother, and spirited young daughter, Wantig. The family’s dysfunction is front and center, and each woman has her own way of dealing with it. The mother is patriotic, warm, and social and has a ‘fiance’ who seems to fulfill the role of father and grandfather to some extent. Jianbo has a secret lover who adds to the tension. The conflicts unfold through highly emotional scenes, but the cheeky exchanges with Wantig add warmth and humor to the intensity. What does it mean to be a mother? What does their future hold? – Pratibha Kelapure