Shower (can)
A comedy-drama from China, in Mandarin with English subtitles, about a father who owns a traditional bathhouse and his two sons. His eldest son returns to Beijing, after mistakenly believing that his father has passed away, to discover the magic of the bathhouse and its importance to the surrounding community. Surrounded by the bathhouse's long time customers and swallowed up by the culture of the "Shower" experience, the son is forced to face the responsibilities of the family and deal with the problems of modernisation as they affect his personal existence.
Starring: Zhu Xu, Pu Cun Xin, Jiang Wu

This is the first time I have gone to see a Mandarin film in a theatre! I was praying for the subtitles to be accurate so that I could understand the film. As it turned out, the subtitles followed the direction of the film and the length matched the dialogue, so now I can safely write this review.

I must say "Shower" is a profound, emotion-packed, well-directed film! It's directed by Zhang Yang, one of China's pioneer underground music video directors. This is his second film, the first being the award-winning "Spicy Love Soup".

The film portrays the importance of keeping alive old traditions for the simple reason that it connects people together in an honest way. The tradition depicted in this film is the bathhouse concept. The bathhouse is situated somewhere in Northern China in a village that must be about a decade old. Life moves along amicably just like its residents and everyone stops once in awhile to watch the birds and smell the flowers.

The story starts when eldest son Da Ming (Pu Cun Xin), returns home after receiving a postcard from his slightly retarded brother Er Ming (Jiang Wu). I must say you have to see the postcard in order to understand why Da Ming came rushing back home! It's really very funny and everyone in the theatre chuckled when they saw it.

Arriving at the bathhouse in his suit looking dashing, he sees everyone looking relaxed and happy. His father Master Liu (Zhu Xu) is busy giving a customer a massage and his brother is watching a cricket (as in the insect, not the sport) fight. Not quite what he expected at all, and I can't tell you why because it will spoil your surprise.

Da Ming decides to stay for awhile and help with work in the bathhouse. As the days go by, he realizes how happy and content his father and brother are. Coming from the city, he expected them to be perhaps miserable or dissatisfied at their living conditions. He doesn't think highly of his father's profession but he soon comes to realize the important role his father plays in the community.

I suppose you could say that the bathhouse is like the hair salon environment for men. Everyone goes there to be pampered and at the same time catch up on the latest gossip in town. They are also pour out their troubles and hope to receive some counseling that will remedy their problems.

The comedy scenes in this film are hilarious and touching. I definitely recommend that you watch it. If by reading the subtitles only I could understand the jokes and story line, imagine if you knew Mandarin! So if you're the kind of person who sweeps aside traditions for new ideas, then watch this film, perhaps then you will come to appreciate its importance in everyday life.