Arguably Zhang’s masterpiece, this plays out like an opera, at times ceremonial, at times tragic, but always tense and captivating.

A haunting circular tragedy, Zhang Yimou’s tale of passion, lust and angst in rural China is a visual powerhouse.

Zhang Yimou’s greatest achievement comes in the form of this intimate and emotionally devastating through-the-decades account of one Chinese family’s tumultuous existence through the momentous times of the Cultural Revolution.