Xinzhong Chen, also known as Zhong Chen in English, was born in Chengdu, Sichuan, China in the 1970s. He graduated from the Department of Engineering Mechanics at Tsinghua University in China, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering. In the 1990s, fueled by his passion for photography and videography, he made a career change and joined Chengdu TV station. In 1998, he was awarded a full assistantship from Temple University’s film department in the United States, which enabled him to pursue comprehensive film education. In 2003, he earned an MFA degree in film production. Zhong Chen’s works have been selected for more than 100 international film festivals and have garnered numerous awards.. “Ma Xiaobing’s Summer” is his most renowned work.
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The titular character is an unemployed urban youth who makes a living through rental income from his late parents’ property. Haunted by the divorce of his parents, which came due to domestic violence on his alcoholic father’s side and resulted in them being buried in different places, he has made his life goal to reunite them in death, by relocating his mother’s grave close to his father’s.
His mother is buried in her hometown in the countryside, and Ma Xiaobing repeatedly approaches his maternal uncle, who is the head of the family, to discuss the relocation. However, his uncle strongly opposes the idea, insisting that she should stay with her own family. At the same time, the land his uncle resided in has been expropriated and handed over to a developer to build a chemical factory. The villagers, under the uncle’s leadership, refuse to move, additionally because the compensation offered is too small. The construction company hires a criminal organization to remove them violently. Ma Xiaobing finds himself in the middle of the whole thing.
Chen Xinzhong has his film set against the backdrop of a rapidly transforming Sichuan-Chongqing region, but, despite what the synopsis implies, his approach is more experimental than that of the social drama. Instead, he employs a detached observational style, essentially through the eyes of Ma, who is set on fulfilling his goal but is also quite nonchalant about it. At the same time, he implements a tour-guide approach through the various areas the protagonist roams about, introducing various ‘unusual’ individuals, as in the case of a poison seller or a knife sharpener, perhaps in an effort to highlight everyday life in the area, from the point of view of the locals. The implementation of visits in brothels and the repeated ‘meetings’ with his deceased father conclude this approach, in a way that frequently borders on the surreal.
DP Xuexue Pan’s approach works quite well in that regard, implementing a road-movie/documentary-like style that fits the style of the protagonist to perfection, in an approach, though, that somewhat detracts from the impact the movie could have. This issue becomes quite apparent in the presentation of the comment about redevelopment, which does emerge as quite interesting, and eventually unfolds in the most shocking fashion, but still is depicted in a way that can only be described as detached. Furthermore, and perhaps in an acknowledgement of the fact, Chen has included real life footage of forced demolition in the country, in an element, though, that does shed light on what he was describing in the film, even if, once more, in detached fashion.
It is also this aspect that allows the movie to move beyond its experimental art-house premises and become an impactful drama, with the tragic irony of the end being the most memorable part of the whole movie.
Lastly, Xu Jinhui in the titular role is quite good in presenting the aforementioned detachment and his resolve, while his surprised face in the frequently abrupt cuts implemented throughout, are the main source of comedy in the movie.
“Ma Xiaobing’s Summer” is a weird film that manages, though, to be quite impactful through the comments presented, while it also works as a tour guide of the particular areas. Lastly, at 87 minutes, it definitely does not overextend its welcome.
