A New Old Play

Qiu Jiongjiong tells this story with affecting intimacy and candid observation—and with archly ironic methods.

At once tragedy and farce, it breathes new life into a story as old as civilization.

An amazingly tense film for fans of Chinese opera and Chinese politics.

It is as multilayered as the traditions of old and as daring as the convictions of new.

At 179 minutes, A New Old Play might seem like a daunting watch, except it's a lively, lovely film, even in the saddest moments.

Occupying something of a middle ground between Hou's The Puppetmaster and Chen's Farewell My Concubine as a history of 20th century China as seen through the eyes of a theatrical performer, A New Old Play is an unusual kind of epic.

A New Old Play is as entertaining to watch as it is deeply moving.

At three hours running time, director Qiu Jiongjiong’s A New Old Play demands and rewards patience with a chronicle of Chinese history from the 1920s through the 1980s.

[Qiu] implicitly puts himself in the lineage of these performers and artists who have contributed to a rich Chinese folk tradition. On the strength of A New Old Play, such a gesture is more than earned.