Little Red Flowers (2006)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

hyped garbage

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

If Yuan Zhang's "Little Red Flowers" isn't quite in the same class as Nicolas Philibert's masterpiece "Etre et avoir" it is still one of the best films ever made about small children in a school environment but whereas the Philibert film was a documentary this is fiction and at times the performances or 'non-performances' Zhang draws from the children are nothing short of miraculous. The setting is a boarding kindergarten in post-Revolutionary China and the central character is Fang Qiangqiang, a disruptive four year old desperate to fit in.There's no real plot to speak of and Zhang films it as if it were a documentary with perhaps more of an emphasis on the children's toiletry habits than some people might like. Although the film is perfectly innocent and full of charm, repetitive shots of our little hero and his friends in the altogether could prove problematic to Western audiences. (The Chinese, or is it just Zhang, seem obsessed with peeing, pooping and farting). Look beyond that, however, and this is a lovely account of one little boy's need for acceptance. The title refers to the little red flowers the children are rewarded for good behavior.

People must understand something before complaining anything about the movie. Possibly the lifestyle and cultural differences makes audience to have the wrong opinion about it. That too the story sets in China in the 1940s, almost 60 years ago. There are lot be changed by now and all the above it a was based on the semi-autobiographical novel by a man who remembered his life in kindergarten.The movie tells the tale of a 4 year-old boy Fang Qiangqiang. In the beginning of the story the Fang's father leaves him in a kindergarten boarding school. Where kids to be taught good behaviours like self dressing, bathing, feeding, playing and helping each others like all the basic knowledge. For a good behaviour student will get a red paper flower each day and also be taken away if they are not behaving. So our protagonist Fang struggles at the initial stage to adopt the new environment. Giving a best shot to get his first red flower which terribly ends. The struggle drags to days and weeks without making any progress. One day, frustrated teacher forces him to undress and dress again in front of the whole class but it only makes Fang turn into a different person. Fang was a unique visioned kid, needed to be specially taken care but for the common rule for all he becomes a degraded.It had a bit strong nudity than usual in a children's movie. Yeah, that might upset some people especially the family audience. Even I was shocked to see the raw presentation, some scenes could adjusted with different camera angles. It makes me think like was China like this once? Initially I was hesitated to accept it as a good movie but later something changed my mind. There are many movies like 'City of Life and Death' and others which are based on the II world war which tells nothing but a truth one can hard to digest. The life in the firs half of the 20th century was difficult so no exception for this movie as well which happens in post-revolutionary China. Definitely the people who have no idea about communism will learn something from the movie.There were not much dialogue in the movie. The camera angles were also good, kept under children's stature. I am a big fan of the children's movies and I liked 'Little Red Flowers' very much despite nudity. The main reason was it was someone's real story than some fictional one. But the ending was a bit disappointed, it won't denotes in which way it concludes. I am warning this movie is for a selected audience, you could be end in displeasure because of the presentation, not for the story or the cast.9/10

I watch a lot of Japanese and Chinese movies because I used to live in Taiwan and Japan. However, as I seen the movies I seen movies like this that just make me sick. It makes me wonder why these countries focus on the sexualization or exploitation of children.First, these are not infants as such one reviewer wrote. They are four and five year olds, which many at that age are potty trained already.Second, many times the focus is on the genitals of both the boys and the girls (mainly the boys which is highly visible, the girls there are glimpses).The boy also pull down the girls panties just to see her nude a few times.I know in the US it is legal for nudity but majority of the time after they get a certain age usually after three you wouldn't be see full nudity of children because producers want to avoid backlash.I know the Asian reviewers and the European reviewers and the few sick American reviewers enjoy looking at children's genitals but I surely don't.Note to IMDb, you need to update the section for nudity. All you have on here is that it is foul language. This movie has gratuitous child nudity. Note: There is no US rating because it would at least get an R rating.

I'm disappointed by all of the previous comments on this film. This film seemed to me to be far more deeply layered and textured than previous writers have given it credit for.Having studied Chinese film (particulary the work of the 5th generation, which this film isn't part of), it's my understanding that Chinese films can't be 'read' in the same way as Western films. Due to censorship in China Chinese directors find different ways of telling stories, more often than not by dressing them up as something else. Therefore I don't believe that this film can be taken at face value. I don't believe this is a film about a small boy being sent to a kindergarten by his father and trying to earn Little Red Flowers. I think an important thing to notice is the way the boy changes. He starts off hating the regime of the school but wanting to fit in, wanting to earn a red flower, but he never does, so he deliberately alienates himself. There are many scenes where he sets himself apart from the group, and he becomes a rebel - he stirs up unrest amongst the other children. He challenges the authority. This seems to me to be deeply allegorical.I was hoping to read some comments here that would help me understand this film, because I'm finding it puzzling. I found it a very hard film to watch, and I can't say I really enjoyed it. I found it slow and repetitive with far too much emphasis on 'peeing and pooping'. However, I'm finding it a very interesting film to think about and try to decipher. I would very much like to read other readers comments on this. What, for example, is the significance of the hospital? And the children's names? There are many many questions to be answered, and many more to be asked. By my own admission I'm not very good at reading films, but I am aware of what needs to be read!