At first sight of SHI Xin’s debut feature film A LITTLE BIRD REMINDS ME, it takes us back to the 1980s of China. Xing was born in the theatre, where both of his parents worked. The drastic social changes were reflected through the life of an ordinary family. But on the micro- level, Xing also experienced his growth as a young kid.

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The nostalgia atmosphere and realistic expressions resonate with New Taiwanese Cinema. The director glorifies that time period, the innocence and pureness conveyed through its cinematic language is touching, especially thinking about the digital age after 2000. But the film is not just a typical coming-of-age story.

Through our protagonist Xing’s eyes, we see how values and ideologies have changed in three generations. The greater historical context, rapid economic growth, and crucial social changes, as well as the western and domestic cultural collision, are all delicately woven into the storyline and are embedded in every character.

A LITTLE BIRD REMINDS ME is poetical prose dedicated to the whole generation living, struggling, and growing in Chinese society at the end of the last century.