One Second

Zhang Yimou, in general, is the director of the epical drammas. But all the while he manages to tell little stories with a certain cynicism and black humor. One second is one of these films that tells us a very cheerful story with touching tones of hearthwarming. The film is a kind of Chinese "Cinema Paradiso", which is full of love for cinema and for this seventh art. But Yimou not only speaks of love for cinema but also of a friendship and solidarity between a prisoner who has escaped from a concentration camp and a child that their friendship is in fact based on the roots about the interests of cinema. Despite all this good intention that the director wants to put forward, unfortunately the film is unable to end this brilliant idea with a decent final blow and leaves the spectator with a dry mouth disappointing and perplexed without giving the coup de grace that otherwise would have been a sensational ending. .

Very rare type of story that you don't normally see. It's unique because it has a simple and genuine storyline but beautifully executed and got carried away till the end. Highly recommended!!

"He finds an unlikely competitor in a young girl Liu Guinv (Liu Haocun), who wants some film to decorate a lampshade for reparation. After a series of mischiefs fighting for a reel of film, which finally reaches the regulated farm where the movie is due to be screened by the veteran film projector Fan Dianying (Fan Wei), Jiusheng's concealed identity is at risk of being discovered and his foe-to-friend bond with Guinv, who is more or less his daughter's age, takes a familiar but no less affecting father-daughter trajectory. And ONE SECOND hits the bull's eye with its ending, a tactical misunderstanding brings Jiusheng back to Guinv, and his ensuing disappointment soon changes into a philosophical sigh, he is accorded a second chance to be a father figure, whereas, the film footage, buried and gone, acts like a germane symbol of a bygone era."

read my full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks

Anyone unfamiliar with the larger career arc of Yimou Zhang can be excused for underestimating this heartfelt film. If it is not a masterpiece, then it is at least a worthy example from a master. It is, of course, a takeoff on Cinema Paradiso (1988). I infer that this film is vastly truer to Cultural Revolution China than that one was to early post-WWII Italy. I think it rings true. I hope that someone who was there "in the day" will comment.

One Second is a small-town period piece about a rough man obsessed with seeing a stolen newsreel. When the newsreel is stolen by a young orphan girl he goes on the chase.

The reasons are shown over time, but the thing you see right away is the importance of film in the movie's world. Townspeople are obsessed with movies, and theater owners are respected to a remarkable degree. Who knew?

The film has an interesting structure - much of the middle is devoted to saving some damaged film, which is surprisingly absorbing, but other parts are pretty dramatic. And the central relationship between the man and the orphan girl is rather remarkable as it shifts and alters in ways that make sense even when they surprise.

While I am more a fan of directory Yimou Zhang's blockbusters than of his smaller village-life movies , this is a genuinely enjoyable and affecting film that is well worth watching.