Shower (Xizao) (PG-13) No Rating

Traditional Chinese culture is scrubbed as this modern world liquidates a public bathhouse in this slice of life that follows a tub full of eccentric old-timers.

Story

The oft-trod theme of the disintegration of tradition is the subject of this curious glance at Chinese bathhouse culture. Cell phone-talking, city-dwelling Da Ming (Pu Cun Xin) returns to his childhood home, having mistaken a postcard from his mentally handicapped brother to mean that their father has passed away. Instead he finds dad and brother alive and well and catering to their clientele of old men who soak in tubs, receive scrubs and rubs and generally wile away an afternoon wrestling crickets and bickering. When his father's health fails and the wrecking ball threatens to replace the bathhouse with a shopping mall, Da Ming's return to big city life hangs in the balance.

Acting

This keenly observant film reveals an array of authentic singular characters, the quirky denizens of the bathhouse. Jing Wu is endearing as the simple-minded, merry Er Ming, who is devoted to the staid if steamy life of the bathhouse. Zhu Xu plays his father, as devoted to his loving handicapped son as he is disappointed by Da Ming, the rejecting son.

Direction

Zhang Yang follows up on his international success "Spicy Love Soup" with this well executed but unexceptional rendering of a familiar theme. Nonetheless, cinematic attention to detail and subtle characterizations bring interest.

Bottom Line

A competent, well-composed film that offers nothing new to the subject of chipping away of traditional culture.

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Starring Zhu Xu, Pu Cun Xin, Jiang Wu, He Zheng and Zhang Jin Hao.

Directed by Zhang Yang. Produced by Peter Loehr. Screenplay by Zhang Yang, Liu Fen Dou, Huo Xin, Diao Yi Nan and Cai Xiang Jun. Released by Sony Pictures Classics.