Spring Subway (2002)

Spring Subway is a 2002 Chinese romance film directed by Zhang Yibai and starring Xu Jinglei and Geng Le. Sixth Generation director Zhang Yang also plays a role. The film represents a relatively new genre in China, the artistic "commercial film" with its international urban sensibilities designed to appeal to young middle class Chinese. Spring Subway is a stylistic film that plays with chronological conventions and flashbacks, and with characters that often break the fourth wall to directly address the audience.

The film was produced by China Youth Film Studio and the independent Electric Orange Entertainment (run by screenwriter, Liu Fendou). Distribution was handled by Media Asia Entertainment Group.

Synopsis

Jianbin (Geng Le) and Xiaohui (Xu Jinglei) are a young couple living in Beijing who have been married for seven years. As the film starts, the couple has begun to grow bored with their existence bringing their relationship to an impasse. Xiaohui, who works at a designing firm, tentatively begins a flirtatious relationship with one of her customers, Lao Hu, a coffee-shop owner (played by director Zhang Yang). Jianbin, meanwhile, has recently been laid off, though he keeps it a secret from his wife by dressing for work every morning, hiding his briefcase in a public bathroom and riding the Beijing metro for most of the day.

Actors