Duhui de zaochen: A quiet, dusty kind of sadness

Is this worth your Tuesday night?

If you have patience for a story that moves at the speed of a construction site crane, you’ll probably find something to hold onto here. It’s definitely not for the people who need a Marvel-style payoff every ten minutes. If you hate movies where people just stare at each other while the wind blows, skip it. Honestly, it’s a bit of a slow burn.

The story follows Qiling, a kid who was left behind, finally bumping into his biological father, Menghua, at a construction company 24 years later. The irony isn't even the point, really. It’s just the awkwardness of it all that gets me.

There’s this one scene where they are just standing near the scaffolding, and you can tell neither of them knows how to talk to the other. It feels less like a script and more like a real, uncomfortable encounter you’d witness on a bus or a park bench. 🏗️

Notes from the back row

The pacing is… well, it’s not exactly tight. There are moments where the camera just lingers on a pile of dirt or the way the light hits a concrete wall. It’s weirdly hypnotic. Sometimes it feels like the movie forgot it had a plot to finish.

It reminded me a bit of the quiet despair you find in Rayon de soleil, where the environment says more than the dialogue ever could. You aren't getting big dramatic speeches here. You’re getting glances. You’re getting the sound of construction gear clanking in the background while two people fail to connect.

• The lighting is surprisingly gray. It makes everything feel tired.
• I’m still not sure why they spent so long on that one worker’s lunch break.
• The sound design is just heavy, man. Lots of city noise.

It’s not a perfect film. It feels a bit uneven, like the director wasn't sure if they wanted to tell a drama or a documentary about labor. But that messiness makes it feel human. It’s not trying to win awards. It’s just trying to exist.

Don’t go in expecting a neat bow on the ending. It’s more like a shrug. A sad, dusty shrug. ☁️