MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for Under the Hawthorn Tree

Under the Hawthorn Tree

2010 · 113 min

A tender, slow-burning romance set against political hardship, it lingers in quiet glances and small sacrifices, building to a devastating emotional payoff.

Overview
The daughter of a right-winger, schoolgirl Jing Qiu is sent to the countryside for reeducation, and tasked to help write a textbook. There she meets Lao San, a young soldier with a bright future ahead. Despite the class divide and parental disapproval, romance blooms against turbulent times.

Search YouTube for the trailer

In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 3 of 3
  • romanticstrength 3 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • bleakstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • love
  • class
  • family
  • grief
  • politics
Places
  • countryside
  • small town
Era
period
Audience
teen
Form
  • true story
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language none
  • Violence none
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror0
Humour2
Realism8
Romance8
Tension4
Darkness6
Complexity5
Emotional weight8

More like this

Titles like Under the Hawthorn Tree

Movie

The Road Home

1999

A quiet, tender story that shifts between sorrow and warm nostalgia, asking you to sit with its gentle rhythms and feel the weight of memory.

Same director: Zhang Yimou · Melancholic, romantic, slow-burn · about love and family

Also
Same director: Zhang Yimou
Via
  • melancholic
  • romantic
  • love
  • family
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
89 min
Details In your watch list
The Road HomeHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

To Live

1994

A sweeping, emotionally devastating journey through decades of hardship, anchored by quiet resilience and moments of tenderness.

Same director: Zhang Yimou · Melancholic, earnest · about family and grief

Also
Same director: Zhang Yimou
Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • family
  • grief
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
133 min
Details In your watch list
To LiveHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Coming Home

2014

A quiet, heartbreaking watch that lingers on faces and small gestures, building sadness through patience rather than spectacle.

Same director: Zhang Yimou · Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about love and family

Also
Same director: Zhang Yimou
Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • love
  • family
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
111 min
Details In your watch list
Coming HomeHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Red Sorghum

1988

A lush, earthy, and ultimately tragic folk tale that immerses you in a vivid rural world before turning to brutal wartime loss.

Same director: Zhang Yimou · Melancholic, romantic · about love and family

Also
Same director: Zhang Yimou
Via
  • melancholic
  • romantic
  • love
  • family
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
91 min
Details In your watch list
Red SorghumHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Brokeback Mountain

2005

A quietly devastating, slow-burning romance that immerses you in longing and loss against vast, lonely landscapes.

Melancholic, romantic, slow-burn · about love and grief

Via
  • melancholic
  • romantic
  • love
  • grief
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
134 min
Details In your watch list
Brokeback MountainHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Spring in a Small Town

1948

This film offers a quiet, beautifully rendered meditation on fading affections amidst the decay of a once grand setting.

Melancholic, romantic · about love and family

Via
  • melancholic
  • romantic
  • love
  • family
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
94 min
Details In your watch list
Spring in a Small TownHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Still Life

2006

A quiet, haunting immersion into lives uprooted by change, where long takes and sparse dialogue invite contemplation of loss and resilience.

Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about class and family

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • class
  • family
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
108 min
Details In your watch list
Still LifeHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Us and Them

2018

A bittersweet, slow-burning romance that moves between past and present, leaving a lingering ache of missed chances and quiet regret.

Melancholic, romantic, slow-burn · about love and class

Via
  • melancholic
  • romantic
  • love
  • class
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
120 min
Details In your watch list
Us and ThemHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Your Heart Will Be Broken

2026

A tender, anguished teen romance that aches with longing and the sting of outside forces pulling two people apart.

About love and family

Via
  • love
  • family
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
134 min
Details In your watch list
Your Heart Will Be BrokenHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

House of Flying Daggers

2004

A lush, emotionally charged wuxia romance where every glance and duel carries weight, blending breathtaking choreography with a tragic love triangle.

Same director: Zhang Yimou · Melancholic, romantic · about love and grief

Also
Same director: Zhang Yimou
Via
  • melancholic
  • romantic
  • love
  • grief
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
119 min
Details In your watch list
House of Flying DaggersHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Eighteen Springs

1997

A slow, aching romance weighed down by fate and family, leaving a lingering sadness long after it ends.

Melancholic, romantic, slow-burn · about love and class

Via
  • melancholic
  • romantic
  • love
  • class
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
126 min
Details In your watch list
Eighteen SpringsHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Comrades, Almost a Love Story

1996

A bittersweet, meandering romance that drifts through years of missed chances, leaving a lingering ache of what might have been.

Melancholic, romantic · about love

Via
  • melancholic
  • romantic
  • love
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
118 min
Details In your watch list
Comrades, Almost a Love StoryHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, romance
Directed by
Zhang Yimou
Written by
Yin Lichuan, A Mei, Gu Xiaobai
Starring
Zhou Dongyu, Shawn Dou, Xi Meijuan, Li Xuejian, Cheng Taishen, Sa Rina, Lü Liping, Jiang Ruijia
Music
Chen Qigang
Cinematography
Zhao Xiaoding
Runtime
113 min
Country
China
Languages
Mandarin

TMDBIMDbLetterboxdWikipediaWikidata