Man from China

A short feature by Zhang Tielin, a former movie star in China, now an exile in Britain. It charts the experiences of a young Chinese painter who comes to London soon after the Beijing massacre and decides to stay. His initial difficulties in adjusting and the misunderstandings are sketched succinctly, but the meat of the film is the account of the boy's psychological blocks: his determination to go it alone, and his almost pathological inability to accept help and affection. In other words, not the usual anecdotal guff, but an intense and demanding study of the 'inner wounds' that afflict so many Chinese from the PRC. A more than impressive debut.