First-time director Lu Sheng set out to make a film about love, but what he ended up with was a story about the keen sense of ennui and melancholy that accompanies loss.

Here, There tells three interconnected stories crossing three generations. A man who raises reindeer in the mountains of northwestern China is conflicted about whether or not to give up his business, while his brother, who works at a noodle restaurant in Shanghai, has to deal with the sudden death of his girlfriend. At the same time, the son of the noodle shop owner is realizing the impermanence of life as he studies abroad in Paris.

Considering Lu wrote the screenplay in just three months, and made the film with an uber-indie budget of two million renminbi, the fact that Here, There was invited to screen at several Asian and European film festivals is testament to a fairly successful debut.

Making the background a significant part of the story is not an easy task, but a necessary one in a film with so little dialogue, and Lu makes full use of the cinematography skills he learned in France and honed on films like Yin Lichuan’s The Park, and Wang Bing’s The Ditch. Lu excels in making ordinary scenes appear extraordinary, no matter whether he is shooting a broad expanse of forest or snow-covered field, waves crashing along the coastline, or a daily commute on the subway.

The narrative jumps quickly back and forth between stories and times, a rare technique for such a small-budget flick. But under Lu’s skillful guidance, this strengthens the relationships between characters, and intensifies the emotion hidden behind the characters’ expressionless faces.

DETAILS

What: Lu Sheng's Here, There

Where: Broadway Cinematheque Moma

When: Sat., Dec. 9, Sat., Dec. 17 and Wed., Dec. 21, 7pm

Tel: 8438-8258 ext. 8008

Tickets: ¥40