SONG OF SPRING (FILM, SEPTEMBER 10)

Centering a film on someone suffering from Alzheimer's is risky. It's a painful topic, and we all know how it's going to turn out in the end. But blockbusters like Still Alice and The Father have proved the topic is more than just a tearjerker, but can drive plots and character arcs even as memory fades. Yang Lina sets this tale of Alzheimer's between an 85-year-old woman and her daughter/carer. But here's the kicker—it's the daughter whose mind starts to fade. The two women, both retired university professors, must now care for each other, and find comfort in it as they both slowly fade into that good night. Reviews from the film's premiere at the Beijing International Film Festival have praised its deeply emotional depiction of the everyday problems of middle-aged and elderly women, and how the absent father figure adds another layer of meaning to the theme of memory.