★★★★★ 'Out of agony and chaos, [Ye] has created something mysterious, moving and even profound.' – The Guardian
'An absorbing portrait of an unfinished era' – Screen Daily
Director Xiaorui convinces his cast and crew to resume the shooting of a film halted ten years earlier. In January 2020, with the shoot almost complete, rumours regarding an illness begin to circulate. A hairdresser from Wuhan is sent home, while the crew follows the news on their phones. The director has to decide whether to halt the filming once again. Some of the crew and actors manage to leave before the hotel is locked down by security guards and everyone left on set is confined to their hotel rooms. As all communication is reduced to phone screens, Wuhan is locked down. The crew continues to communicate via video calls, whilst the quarantined main actor Jiang Cheng struggles to support his wife who is now locked-down with their month-old baby in Beijing.
