CONFUCIAN DREAM

By Mijie LI

KARLOVY VARY INT'L FILM FESTIVAL - as FEST

Documentary - Completed 2019

An aimless young wife and mother in China discovers Confucianism and becomes a zealous convert, intent on planting a seed in her impressionable four-year-old and resistant husband—but will her new values die on the vine?

Festivals
& Awards

Karlovy Vary IFF 2019
Documentary Films - Competition DOCUMENTARY SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Hot Docs 2019
World Documentary
    • Year of production
    • 2019
    • Genres
    • Documentary
    • Countries
    • CHINA, USA
    • Languages
    • MANDARIN
    • Duration
    • 86 mn
    • Director(s)
    • Mijie LI
    • Producer(s)
    • Mijie LI (Soul Wish Films), Violet FENG (Fish + Bear Pictures), Betsy TSAI (Betsy Tsai), Jeff REICHERT (Jeff Reichert )
    • Synopsis
    • Chaoyan, a young wife and mother, discovers the ancient teachings of Confucianism and hopes they will restore balance, respect and morality to her home. She becomes a zealous convert and involves her impressionable four-year-old son in her rigorous routine of chanting daily mantras. Little Chen may not yet understand the recitations’ meanings, but mom is confident she’s planting a seed for the future. Chaoyan’s husband, Mei, finds their study schedule excessive, but tolerates it until she proposes that Chen attend a year-round Confucian school. While Confucianism’s primary purpose is to instil peace and harmony, the opposite occurs between this husband and wife as their beliefs clash and their arguments escalate. A gripping portrait of marital and parental crisis, Confucian Dream demonstrates the devastating effects of misplacing your expectations of a spouse onto a child.