Direction: Li Ruijun
Country: China
Return to Dust expresses a trenchant social realism that, being beautiful to the eye, is caustic to the intellect. It depicts the story of two humble and lonely human beings who find some happiness together after years of hard work and exclusion. Following an arranged marriage, the generous farmer Ma Youtie (Wu Renlin, a non-professional actor) and the bashful Cao Guiying (star actress Hai Qing) manage to get along pretty well, proving the inhabitants of their rural Gansu village that they can do much more than what is expected from them.
This is a gently persuasive tale that reflects the Chinese reality, where the meaninglessness of one’s existence surpasses any individual attempt to stand out. It’s also about the will to change and the right to dream in a country that shows little compassion.
Writer-director Li Ruijun presents everything with bouts of languishing moments that never lose sense or direction. Sometimes they say more than what they show. There’s powerful drama and rustic lyricism in these characters’ journey, and we root for them, aware of their honesty, simplicity, and determination. Return to Dust is a sober, subtle, and moving experience that finds its aesthetic identity, satisfying both as a life tale that tries to reconnect people with humanity and as a tribute to the vitality and endurance of Chinese peasant culture in adverse times.
