Jian Liu

A city in southern China and a bag containing a million yuan draws several people from diverse backgrounds with different personal motives into a bloody conflict. Philosophising gangster bosses, ageing hitmen, men and women who are tired of the struggle to survive - anyone who happens to have the bag holds on to it tightly, as if it were a lifeline. Hao ji le is a black comedy; the film's inscrutable, laconic humour holds up a magnifying glass to attitudes to life and social conditions... (berlinale.de)

Due to the financial crisis, many factories in China are forced to close their doors in late 2008. Zhang Xiaojun loses his job in a shoe factory. One day, a supermarket guard beats him up, thinking Zhang is a thief. In vain, he asks the supermarket manager for financial redress. Zhang's dearest wish is to return to his village and become a farmer. But right before his departure, the police arrest him. The supermarket manager also has his problems. (wikipedia)

Set on the campus of the Chinese Southern Academy of Arts in the early 1990s, featuring a group of art students caught between tradition and modernity, as love and friendships are intertwined with their artistic pursuits, ideals and ambitions. (en.wikipedia.org)