Guangsheng is a mild mannered student from a family with limited means. Hoping to secure some paid teaching at his university he decides that helping out his Professor may assist his cause. That is how he ends up looking after Lucky, the Professor’s beloved bulldog. As with many of cinema’s great plans, things don’t turn out as hoped and Lucky goes missing. Enlisting the help of his Dad, whose cynical take on the political and economic structures of contemporary China as well as his willingness to share his thoughts with anyone who will listen continually get the pair into bother, the search for Lucky becomes increasingly unlucky for Guangsheng and his future.
First time Director Jiang Jiachen’s visually striking film, it is made up of 61 long takes, is a dryly funny fable that is ultimately a rather pointed satire on the need for ‘connections’ in contemporary China. Looking for Lucky is certainly one of the most engaging independent features to emerge from China in recent years.
Supported by the Confucius Institute at The University of Manchester.
