Like Winds, Like Weeds

Core Story | Dual Loss Between Foreign Land and Hometown
Single mother "Xiaomei" (played by Guo Keyu), who has been divorced for many years, escapes the painful memories of her hometown Cangshan by moving to Shanghai to make a living. During the day, she works in housekeeping, and at night, she cares for her mother (the actress's name is not mentioned in the plot), who suffers from Alzheimer’s. Meanwhile, she faces the rebellious nature of her son, creating a tense dynamic in their cramped rental home as they navigate "escaping the present, forgetting the past, and questioning the future."

Key Conflict | Identity Challenges on the Return Home
When the pressures of life in a foreign land become overwhelming, Xiaomei decides to return to her hometown with her mother and son, only to find that "Cangshan" has been renamed due to urban development, and the land of her memories has been replaced by steel and concrete. Director Zhang Fan uses the motif of "disappearing place names" to symbolize the disintegration of traditional family ties, capturing the process of three generations searching for their identities amidst the ruins of their hometown.

Film Festival Reviews | Emotional Tension in a Cool Narrative
Guo Keyu, after her role in "Eternals," takes on the challenge of portraying a complex female character once again, delivering a minimalist performance that conveys Xiaomei's repressed emotions and explosive power, earning praise from the FIRST Film Festival judges for "speaking a thousand words through silence." The long takes of mother-daughter interactions and the son's monologue amidst construction site ruins have become focal points of discussion among fans.

"Like Winds, Like Weeds" explores the fluidity of "home" and intergenerational trauma within a 93-minute runtime, making it suitable for audiences who appreciate deep, thought-provoking dramas.