‘Clouds south’ is not
his dream land

This is one of those China-moderne films. Not a Mao jacket or sooty sky to be seen. Nope. We're talking cell phones, weight-loss centers, fad exercises, sporty red convertibles, swank hotels and gorgeous scenery. But the grinding privation under the weight of monolithic political machinery can still be heard, however faintly.

The story unfolds resolutely. Xu Da Qin has lived in the north and worked diligently and unhappily his whole life. There was a moment as a young man when he could have transferred his factory job to sunny, scenic Yunnan -- the word means "clouds south" -- but it didn't work out.

He spent his life stewing over what might have been. Now an old man and retired, he spends his days rooming with his fitness-instructor daughter (they have nothing in common) and trying out fad exercises with an acquaintance. When his friend decides late in life to get married, Xu takes the plunge and travels south to Yunnan.

But it is not the countryside of his dreams. He's at odds and ends about what to do and see there, and he eventually is the victim of a legal snafu that prevents him from going home.

As Xu, Li Xue Jian demonstrates a shambling Chaplinesque physical grace as well as a surprising mastery of body English. Or body Chinese -- I suspect he's a veteran of numerous "Monkey King" operas. Mirroring his life, the film is tightly restrained and static. The last shot is the only close-up in the entire film and, like the open ending, a surprise when it comes.