“Return to Dust” A wheat-colored picture scroll, a song about walking with a nameless donkey

illusion of paradise

The rural landscapes of Return to Dust and the look of the ruined houses in depopulated areas are reminiscent of Zhang Yimou's early masterpieces. The setting of this film is Gansu Province, which is similar to the scenery of Wu Tianming's Old Well (1987), in which Zhang Yimou starred as an actor. Just as Old Well captured the muscle movements of manual laborers in detail, Return to Dust, set in Li Ruijun's hometown, has a shot that captures Youtie's body movements as he works in the fields from close range. Wu Renlin, the director's uncle and a non-professional actor, is cast as Youtie. In this film, Youtie's work is "wisdom" and "history." Youtie's body is inhabited by the memories accumulated by the farmers of this region. Youtie's body is engraved with the "wisdom" to live a self-sufficient life without relying on the progress of civilization.

"Through making this film, I realized that film directors are just like farmers... Farmers dedicate their lives to the land and time. In the same way, we dedicate the destiny of our films to the land and time." (Li Ruijun)*

"Return to Dust" ©2022 Qizi Films Limited, Beijing JQ Spring Pictures Company Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Youtie and Quinn hand-build their new home. It starts with pouring clay into a mold, and the construction is dauntingly painstaking. The house, built of sun-dried bricks, becomes a paradise for the couple in the middle of the desert. Like a movie set, the house can be easily demolished as soon as it has served its purpose. A paradise built with considerable effort. The beauty of the process of fleshing out the framework of the building. Its illusory transience is similar to a movie. And Youtie's stubbornness in sticking to analogue physical labor is also an indomitable spirit. Even if one day he loses all his tools, Youtie has enough accumulated wisdom and skills to start a self-sufficient life from scratch again.

In terms of the "wisdom" that the body remembers, it is interesting that the role of Quyin is played by Hai Qing, a popular actor who has appeared in Big budget Chinese films. In this film, Hai Qing starts by discarding her acting skills, while Wu Renlin, who plays Youtie and is not a professional actor, starts by learning acting skills. Disarming and acquiring weapons. A collaboration between two actors with completely opposite acting plans. The tension produces brilliant results. Quyin without makeup. Hai Qing devoted herself to this role for a year. Deep in Quyin's eyes, where she cannot hide the fatigue of life, the joy of being loved by someone is shining.

nameless donkey