Postmen in the Mountains

Nashan naren nagou
a film by Huo Jianqi

Set in the remote mountain wilderness of China's southern Hunan Province in the early 1980s, a subtle, poetic and often poignant film of life's passages and the age-old story of the relationship between fathers and sons, tradition and change.

Slowed down by arthritis and forced to retire, a middle-aged postman passes his route on to his son, whom he accompanies on his final trip. Together, they deliver mail on a three-day, 115km-long walking route into the rural heart of China, and in the process the son learns from the inhabitants of the isolated communities more about the father he hardly knew. As the pair and the old postman's loyal and resourceful dog wander over the misty terrain like figures in a Chinese landscape painting, love, pride and dedication are revealed as deep as the rich emerald backdrop.

With his father often away on duty while he grew up, the son came to resent and fear his father, and felt bad for his seemingly abandoned mother. The old postman is deeply moved as his son relates his mother's anxiety whilst she waits for him to return home from every trip. But now as they journey together through the mountains, the young man truly experiences the toil and burden that his father has carried for years. He witnesses his father's deep friendship with the villagers he serves, and participates in a wedding celebration with the Dong people. As he comes to realise that the far-flung communities along the route totally depend on the old postman for much more than just the sending and receiving of mail, the son begins to appreciate the nobility of his father's profession.

This enchanting and very beautiful film is a heart-warming insight into the relationship of a father and son getting to know, and learning to appreciate each other after long periods apart throughout the years of the boy's upbringing. Wonderfully slow-paced and serenely poetic, with visually stunning scenery and gorgeous cinematography. Huo's outstanding third feature won top prizes at the Golden Rooster Awards 1999 in Beijing, followed by numerous nominations and awards in Japan, India, US and Canada.