11 Flowers
11 Flowers is a 2011 film directed by Wang Xiaoshuai centered on a boy named Wang Han who loses his white shirt which shows that he is his school's best gymnast. and the more general confusion of childhood. ''It is the second installment in Wang's "autobiographical trilogy," following Shanghai Dreams. The film premiered in France on May 9, 2012, and in China on May 18, 2012.''
Plot
Set during the late Cultural Revolution in a remote mountainous town in Southwest China, the film follows Wang Han, an 11-year-old boy who becomes entangled in a murder case. The story reflects the social and cultural conditions of the time, including the lives of intellectuals relocated to underdeveloped areas as part of the Third Front Construction, the lingering effects of factional violence during the revolution, and the hierarchical power structures of Mao era-society. Themes of innocence, unresolved emotions, and death are central to the narrative.Wang Han is chosen by his teacher to lead the school’s morning exercises. To perform confidently, he asks his mother to buy him a white shirt. Initially reluctant due to the cost, his mother eventually uses a year’s worth of fabric coupons to make the shirt, which Wang Han treasures deeply.
While playing by the river with his friends, Wang Han loses the shirt in the water. As he retrieves it, a fugitive murderer, Xie Jueqiang, passes by, wounded. Xie takes the shirt to stop his bleeding and flees into the forest. Determined to reclaim the shirt, Wang Han ventures into the forest, where Xie demands his help in finding herbs to stop the bleeding and threatens him to keep his location a secret. Xie promises to replace the shirt later. Wang Han lies to his mother about the shirt, claiming it was lost in the river.
To reconcile with his friends, Wang Han reveals Xie’s hiding place. One of his friends informs their teacher, leading to a police search of the forest, which fails to capture Xie. Eventually, Xie is caught after setting a fire and is sentenced to death for murder and arson. Before his execution, Xie arranges for a white shirt to be sent to Wang Han from prison, fulfilling his promise.
''The film concludes with Wang Han and his friends listening to a broadcast announcing the public execution of criminals. As they run toward the execution site, Wang Han stops abruptly upon hearing Xie’s name.''
''Cast''
- Liu Wenqing as Wang Han: The protagonist, an 11-year-old boy who loves painting and is chosen as the school’s exercise leader. His encounter with Xie Jueqiang changes his life.
- Yan Ni as Deng Meiyu: Wang Han’s mother, a factory worker.
- Wang Jingchun as Wang Boju: Wang Han’s father, an amateur artist who teaches his son to paint.
- Wang Ziyi as Xie Jueqiang: A fugitive who kills and sets fires to avenge his sister, Xie Juehong, and is later sentenced to death.
- Mo Shiyi as Xie Juehong: Xie Jueqiang’s sister, a student assaulted by a local official.
- Cao Shiping as Xie Fulai: Xie Jueqiang and Xie Juehong’s father, a former intellectual relocated to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution.
- Zhang Keyuan as Ba La Tou: Wang Han’s friend.
- Zhong Guoliu Xing as Little Mouse: Wang Han’s friend.
- Lou Yihao as Wei Jun: Wang Han’s friend.
- Yu Yue as Teacher Zhou: Wang Han’s teacher.
- ''Qiao Renliang as Wei Jun’s brother: A participant in the Cultural Revolution’s factional fighting.''