"Xiaowei" (Runqi Zheng) is convinced that his grandfather was a very wealthy man who made a considerable fortune in Thailand, and so armed with what he hopes is an address he has surreptitiously gleaned from one of grandmother's old letters he sets off to introduce himself - and hopefully get an early inheritance to pay off his not insubstantial debts. What he finds upon arrival, though, isn't quite what he expected. Sure, there are plenty of schools named after "Bak-seng" (Zheng Musheng) but nobody seems to have any recollection of the man himself. Then he discovers that there was a man nicknamed "Iron Fish" and now, through a series of emotionally-charged flashbacks, we learn a little more of just why he left his wife and young family all these years ago as the Chinese civil war was raging and of a story of his struggles that doesn't quite sit with the reputation the man had garnered at home. For many years after his departure, he had sent monthly remittances, or qiaopi, back to his wife to help her support their family but they stopped in 1978 and when "Xiaowei" discovers that his grandad had actually died in 1960, his quest is now to find out who was sending the money and, more importantly, why? Perhaps the clue might lie in a photograph that was in the last letter? He has to find "Tsia Nam-Ki" (Xie Nanzhi) if he is to have any hope of finding an answer to that question. Though this is a bit of a slow burn and it can come across as a little too sentimental at times, this is still quite a well presented and poignant love story that also illustrate just how societies existed when few knew how to read - especially if you were a girl, and of how easily misunderstandings and miscommunication could leave people feeling bereft and unfulfilled for a lifetime. With streets full of letter writers sending cash from the more stable parts of South East Asia and these bureaux providing lifelines for many in wartorn, then Communist, China - this depicts a story that doesn't quite follow the expected tramlines nor does it end - albeit a little too hastily - the way I was expecting, either. I found there to be quite a touching chemistry between Zheng Musheng and Xie Nanzhi; the production design is stylish and authentic looking and there's even a little humour mixed in to give the characterisations a little extra humanity. Seen through the eyes of a western observer, this is quite a characterful story of love, loss and integrity that's well worth a look on a big screen.
