| Director | Bi Gan |
|---|---|
| Genre | drama film |
| Runtime | 110 min |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Budget | CN¥200,000 |
Ex-convict Chen Sheng works as a doctor in a rural community in Kaili. He has a half-brother, Crazy Face, with whom he squabbles over the latter's neglect of his son Weiwei. Weiwei disappears one day and Chen, believing that Crazy Face has sold the child, confronts him. After being told that Weiwei was in fact taken on a trip by Chen's old mentor Monk to the neighboring Zhenyuan, he sets off to look for him. Before Chen leaves, the village's old doctor asks him to bring a few keepsakes to her old lover, a Miao musician who now lives in Zhenyuan and is on his deathbed.
On the train to Zhenyuan, Chen drifts into a dream that takes him through a mysterious village named Dangmai, in which the past, present and future mix together. He travels much of the distance on the motorbike of a young man, who eventually reveals his name to be Weiwei. He encounters a hairdresser who looks identical to his deceased wife, to whom he divulges his past: he met his future wife in a club as a young gangster. Monk lent him a hand when his wife fell sick, and he later repaid the favor by avenging Monk's son, who had his hand cut off and was buried alive over gambling debt. He spent nine years in prison as a result, during which both his mother and wife died. Before leaving Dangmai, Chen serenades the hairdresser with a song, accompanied by a traveling rock band performing there.
Arriving at Zhenyuan, Chen meets up with Monk, who tells him that he took Weiwei there when he heard that Crazy Face might sell the child, and asks Chen to let Weiwei stay with him for a few more days. Chen smiles as he sees Weiwei through a pair of binoculars. Visiting the home of the old doctor's old lover, he is informed that the musician has died. The musician's pupils play a final song to send him off.