The Garden of Youth

1956 1h 20m ZH

🤯

9.0

MASTERPIECE

★9.0TMDB · 1

DramaFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A group of eighth-grade boys and girls set themselves the goal of greening the vacant lot adjacent to their school and turning it into a blooming garden. At first, they thought it would be extremely easy to achieve this goal. But then there were those who argued that the garden only required physical strength (so wouldn't it be easier to hire workers?) and that schoolchildren should not be distracted from their classes, especially since many of them were falling behind. The enthusiastic gardeners did not give up. They took the weaker students under their wing. Much more was needed—special knowledge, teamwork skills, and perseverance—before the eighth graders were able to ceremoniously present the school with the first bouquets of flowers from their plot.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Manyi Su
Xiao-Hui's mother
Jie Liu
Mother Wang
Weina Zhang
Xiao-Hui Li
Huanqing Li
Teacher Shi
Baoluo Li
Teacher Hua
Gao Ye
Principal
Guoyi Gu
Luhua Du
Ziqiang Jiang
Xinghua Fang

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Weiyi Wang
Languages: Mandarin
Countries: China

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

80 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

70 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Weiyi Wang, shot by Sizhi Feng. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Wang Yun-Jie. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Manyi Su and Jie Liu and Weina Zhang carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0358057 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Weiyi Wang directs. Sizhi Feng behind the camera. Wang Yun-Jie scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in China. Dialogue in Mandarin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

180 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
270 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Weiyi Wang, shot by Sizhi Feng. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Wang Yun-Jie. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Manyi Su and Jie Liu and Weina Zhang carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0358057 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.