Moonlight and Metropolis

Qin Tian's award-winning film Fate of the Moonlight exposes the growing pains of Chinese urbanization through the lens of gender

《但愿人長(zhǎng)久》：城市化浪潮中三代女性的悲歡離合

A from the countryside to the city in search of work. As directorQin Tian tells TWOC，“Iaimed to document ordinary souls battling the tumultuous tides of our era.”

Qin'sfilmFateof theMoonlight，alsoknown asMoonlightSisters，drawsinspirationforits Chinese title from the renowned ci poem by the 1lth-century poet Su Shi（蘇軾），particularly the well-known lines，“May weallbeblessed with longevity/Thoughmiles apart，we'll share the beautyofthemoontogether（但愿人長(zhǎng)久，千里 共嬋娟）.\"While the film initially appears to focus on the individual fates of three generations of women，a deeper，more universal theme emerges as the story unfolds： The vast chasm between city and countryside that persists in China’s ongoing urbanization，which，perhaps even more than their gender， becomes the core force driving thefluctuationsin thesewomen'sdestiniesand shaping theirhardships.

WinnerofBestNarrativeFeatureatthe FIRSTInternational FilmFestival in 2O23， the film earned just 48o，OoO yuanat the box office afteritsmainstreamrelease this June.But the 172-minute film still received strong critical acclaimand currentlyholdsarespectable7.5out of10 rating on the review platformDouban.

The film is set in Chengdu， where the towering skyscrapers not only underscore the historical realityof rural-to-urbanmigrationbutalso subtly hintat the psychology of the characters. Protagonist Xia Chan （played by Xu Haipeng） is amicrocosmof her generation，asa rural-born woman plunged determinedly into the whirlpool ofurban desires like countless other youths at the turn of the millennium.She quickly discovers that，without the“passport”of anurban household registration （hukou），itisimmensely difficult to secure stable work and a sense of belonging in the city. The dense， towering urban skyline visuallymanifests the sense of oppression thaturban spaces give to outsiders likeXia Chan.

As China's demographics and urban landscape undergo transformation，the social

As China's

demographics

and urban

landscape undergo transformation， the social spaces and

status of women are also changing.

spaces and status of women are also changing. Qin tells TWOC that he saw the explosive growth of Chengdu's population after 2O1O，and some of the pivotal plot points in the film were directly inspired by those growing pains.

In the film，Xia Chan's departure from her hometown strikingly echoes that of Nora， the protagonist ofHenrik Ibsen's playA Doll's House.Yet unlike Nora'siconic act of liberation， markedby‘the slam ofa door”asshe exitsher husband'shome forever，Moonlight follows its three female protagonists of three generations as they move between rural and urban spaces： leaving， staying，and returning.As the identity of each characterchangesalongside the trajectories of hermigration， the story reconsiders the definition ofwomanhood.

Alienated from the rural \"acquaintance society，\" where finding a person is as simple as asking extended family members or neighbors， her search for her daughter becomes an arduous， nearly impossible task.

For Xia Chan，leaving the village was a rebellious act， an attempt to carve out a new identity for herself amid the changing times. Yet，trapped within the liminal space between cityandcountryside，herrebellionremained perpetuallysuspended，unable to take root. Denied a hukou，Xia Chanis forced to try to please powerful people，attending endless dinnersand offeringbribes ina desperate attemptto secureaplaceinaschool forher daughter， only to lose all her money in the end. Even seeking justice is futile：When the man who took the bribe refuses to give a refund and finally admitshe isactually powerless to help，Xia Chan doesnotuse theknife shehadhiddeninher pocket，butbecomes resigned to this realityand looks doggedly for other ways forward.

The second part of Su Shi’s poem that inspired the film's title，“Though milesapart， we'll share thebeauty of the moon together，\" mirrors the bondbetweenXia Chan，who left their small village，and her twin sisterXia Juan， who stayed behind.When Xia Juan's daughter， Xia Xiaomang （Lian Yajia）， comes to the city andseeksshelterunderXiaChan'sroofafter her mother's passing，Xia Chan is initially cold. She allows her own daughter to bully Xiaomang， repaying moments fromher own childhood when she had to make sacrifices for her younger sister.In the momentwhen she finally embraces

Xiaomang into their fold， pledging“we'll live together forever，”the poem crystallizesinto reality on the screen： Three women squeezed onto a crumbling balcony， their laughter rising as theyhang laundryunder themoonlight ina reunion steepedin the tang of everyday life.

Another character， Xia Chan'smother， representsagenerationofruralwomenwho remainbehind in the village.She eventually comes to Chengdu to try to reconcile with her daughter， only to become lost within the toweringcityscape，swindledbyafakemonk into spending 35 yuan ona worthless talisman. The film presents a visually arresting image： the elderly woman's stooped and disoriented figure swallowed bythe cold，vertical forest ofskyscrapers.Alienated fromtherural “acquaintance society，”where finding a person is assimpleasasking extended familymembers or neighbors，hersearchforherdaughterbecomes anarduous，nearly impossible task.

Atthe film'sconclusion，Xia Chan，weathered by city life，returns to her snow-covered hometown in a scene thatis visually expansive yetdesolate.TheprofundityofMoonlight lies in its piercing revelation that this homecomingis fundamentally futile：Xia Chan canneither truly integrate into the city nor can she seamlessly reintegrate into rural life，having becomea guest inher formerclassmates'livesand evenmoreof astrangerto their values.

The closing aerial shot plunges vertically downward，castinga god's-eye view over mortal existence.XiaChanwalksthehighwaywithher daughter and niece， their boots crunching over half-frozen earth where stubborn patches of snow linger. Theymove forward，without looking back， toward the waitingbus， toward Chengdu beyond it，andunnamed tomorrowsafter that.No declarations， no tears： Only three parallel trails of footprints stretch ahead like a wound torn open and stitched shut，again and again.