4 Movies to Add to Your To-Watch List This Month

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Nix the Netflix, turn off your torrents, ditch the DVDs and go and watch a film in a theater for Pete's sake! The Beijing cinema scene is alive and well, as our column Sino Silver Screen proves. All of the films below will be screened with English subtitles.

Orphan (孤儿)

Orphan is a documentary by director Chen Jiaping, who spent five years recording the daily life of disabled children in a Catholic orphanage in Hebei. The film captures the languid changing of the seasons and the repetitive daily routine of the children and staff, which includes little more than prayers, daydreaming, playing with the village animals, and the building of a new church. The director will be present for a talk and Q&A session after the screening.

Price: Free

Time: Oct 12, 2pm

Venue: Amazing Words (码字人书店)

The Insult (羞辱)

Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2017 Oscars, The Insult is a Lebanese drama directed by Ziad Doueiri. The story unfolds in Beirut amidst an ongoing court case between a Lebanese Christian and a Palestinian refugee over an insult and altercation between the two. The courtroom theatrics and accompanying media circus are used to brilliantly showcase a number of social and political issues in the Middle East, as well as exploring questions of guilt, justice, and honor therein.

Price: RMB 30 (book tickets here)

Time: Oct 13, 1.30pm

Venue: China Film Archive (Baiziwan branch)

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Tharlo (塔洛)

Named after its protagonist, Tharlo follows the life of a Tibetan shepherd among the desolate and windswept mountains of the Tibetan plateau. Despite having an impressive memory – he can recite Mao quotations by heart – Tharlo himself is all but forgotten by Chinese society and doesn’t even have an ID card. Filmed in arresting black and white, the movie follows Tharlo's journey from the city back to his monastic life in the mountain village, a trip that is portrayed with charm and a humanist heart.

Price: RMB 30 (book it here)

Time: Oct 18, 7pm

Venue: China Film Archive (Xiaoxitian branch)

My People, My Country (我和我的祖国)

As a tribute to the 70th anniversary of the establishment of PRC, My People, My Country consists of seven short stories directed by seven prestigious Chinese directors, each tasked with choosing a decade to portray. Based loosely on several historical moments that have helped China become what it is today, each short is told from the perspective of an "ordinary" citizen, and although it may smack of propaganda, the well-constructed stories are told in ways that are believable and most importantly entertaining.

Price: RMB 40-86

Time: Various times until Oct 27

Venue: Various cinemas around town

Photos: Douban

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