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Once Upon a Time Proletarian

2009 · 76 min

A quiet, observational documentary that drifts through ordinary working lives, asking what people dream of while the world around them stays stark and uncertain.

Directed by
Xiaolu Guo
Genres
Documentary
Overview
Film shows the present state of China through twelve platforms, an old farmer, a middle aged waitress, a car washer, a weapons dealer, fish store owners, a barber, a factory owner, a park ranger, a shopping mall employee, etc. These various faces of the so-called proletarian class ask, what is a dream? Answers to this question exist in the interview with each character, but is conveyed much more clearly through the black and white image of the children putting up their future as security as shots are heard continually behind them.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Xiaolu Guo
Genres
Documentary
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
    Pacing
    measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
    Attention
    engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
    Themes
    • class
    • work
    • identity
    • ambition
    • power
    Places
    • big city
    • countryside
    • workplace
    Era
    contemporary
    Audience
    adult
    Form
    • documentary
    • true story
    Content intensity
    • Gore none
    • Language mild
    • Violence mild
    • Sex none
    All scales, 0 to 10
    Scales, 0 to 10
    ScaleValue0 to 10
    Action1
    Horror1
    Humour2
    Realism9
    Romance1
    Tension3
    Darkness5
    Complexity5
    Emotional weight6

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    Where to watch in the UK

    No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

    Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

    Details

    Genres
    documentary
    Directed by
    Xiaolu Guo
    Written by
    Xiaolu Guo
    Runtime
    76 min
    Country
    China

    TMDBIMDb