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Men have been a plague on women's lives ever since... well ever since there were men. Things have been getting somewhat better, but not by much. Not everywhere. 80s China was not a good place to be a young woman. Frankly it was not a good place for anybody, but women had it worse, as always. It's grim, it's gray, it's depressing, hopeless, abject poverty. It is 80s China in a god-forsaken place where some idealistic couples were duped into volunteering for the betterment of the country and their futures. The party lied to them and now they are stuck. What else is new in Communist China? I wonder if it was also punishment for having a second child. Surely the one child policy had been in place by then.

Qing Hong (which is actually the movie's title) has an awful dad who makes her life miserable. He is miserable. In his narrow view he actually wants what's best for his daughter. And it's gutting me that he is right. I felt it in my bones right from the start. I think young girls are better off swearing off boys and working towards their futures, especially when possibilities are limited. Choosing the first boy that pays attention to you is a recipe for disaster. You are gambling with your life. And we know you cannot date and experiment in 80s China as a woman. But of course these parents don't have the language or the understanding to explain all these things to her. Dad locks her up or follows her around anywhere. Classic dad right?

Of course I had no idea how much I would be proven right and I did not want that painful lesson on Qing Hong. She actually believed in the promises, not as much as her best friend Xiao Zhen, but enough to regret for a lifetime.

To their credit these parents actually stand by their daughters the best they can. I was dreading the worst when it all comes to a head, but we're still given a small glimmer of hope for them at the end.

Capital punishment sounds about right.

While flicking through some random TV channels i stumbled onto Shanghai Dreams. The main character Qinq Hong's yearning for freedom from her father is expressed by Red High Heels (made me think of Wizard of Oz) The lightness of touch at the beginning seeks to help absorb the viewer into the Story. The Director works well in forcing us to empathise with an initially ogre like father, the frustrations of being sold a lie are all too obvious. I did feel that Qinq's best friend could have been given more time, also the Wrist Cutting scene lacked impact and realism, Back on her Sewing Machine sitting bolt upright?

I would also agree about confusion at the end, who was executed? was it the Prisoners or the Family

The reviews calling this film boring and unrealistic show the grip Hollywood has on cinema audiences. One of the best features about non Hollywood cinema, particularly Asian cinema, is a fearless adherence to telling a story without a fairytale ending or some heartwarming relief. Shanghai Dreams explores a number of themes, such as adolescent rebellion, sexual liberation in 80s China and parental wishes and techniques. It's an epic and absorbing tale told using realistic and often bleak cinematography, in a hilly Chinese inland countryside that seems to be forever beset by fogs and rain. Although the near 2 hour length means it is exhaustingly bleak and leaves one emotionally drained by the end.

The conflict between authoritarian fathers, expecting respect, and their children is a common theme of contemporary Chinese movies; so are the political changes of the recent past (although don't expect to see a film about the Tiannanmen Square massacre). 'Shanghai Dreams' fits this pattern, and there are some highly effective scenes in it: one, a showdown in a factory, with the sound of the machines providing a hideous underscore to the threat of violence; another, where an attempted escape is followed entirely from within the back of a vehicle. But I'm not quite sure it deserved its Cannes prize; Goa Yuanyuan appears a little too old for her character, some of the dialogue is a little expository (at least in translation), and the sense of claustrophobia supposedly felt by its characters (exiles from Shanghai, stuck in a remote industrial town) is not entirely conveyed: I didn't feel that I was pining for Shanghai when watching this movie, and perhaps I should have done. And I didn't quite know what to make of the ending, which though shocking, has a slightly incidental feeling to it. This does not make this a bad movie; but I've seen other films (for example, 'The World'), which have offered more original insights into the fast-changing face of modern China

In good company such as "Broken Flowers" which won the "Grand prix" at Cannes this year, "Shanghai dreams" brought home the "Prix du jury" which it well deserves. The movie has little to do with Shanghai except as a backdrop. The story takes place in Guiyang in the province of Guizhou in the '80s.

The centre character of the movie, Qinghong (the Chinese title of the movie), is a bright, sensitive and sensible teenage girl who moved with her family from modernised coastal Shanghai to the more backwards interior 10 year ago. Her father was initially happy to be a worker participating in the strategic scheme to form a "third line of defence" in the event of war against the Soviet Union, but soon started to blame her mother for persuading him into this folly. He became bitterer every day as Shanghai prospered and longed to return at the first available opportunity which, unfortunately, seemed elusive.

This historical background adds another dimension to the familiar and universal story of general gap and family strife. Added to this is social and class conflict, when Qinghong develops a romantic attachment to a young local factory worker. There are also subplots that give the audience insightful glimpses, through various well-depicted character, into the life of the industrial-rural community.

The movie starts at a characteristically slow pace, but picks up momentum towards the end with a tinge of a suspense thriller (just a tinge though). It has a solid ensemble cast, mesmerising photography of the bleak but character-rich landscape and great direction. Thoughtful attention to details is very evident in, for example, some of the simple scene of family dinner. There are also crisp montages (particularly towards the end) that tell the story in a remarkably efficient and interesting way.

"Shanghai dreams" is one of those movies that starts feeling a bit slow but gets more and more engrossing once you get into it. You come out with a feeling that your experience has been enriched. It's a movie that you would want to talk about afterwards.