Of Mothers and Daughters

Of Mothers and Daughters a film by ZHENG Xiaolei …or how some elderly women in China go about redefining their senior life

There are more than 2 500 pensioners living in a large private retirement home located in a suburb of Canton (Guangzhou), China. As we discover the daily lives of these old people, the film focuses on the lives of two elderly ladies: Ms. Kuang and Ms Xie. As they are both counting the last days of their lives, one is worrying about her sick father and the other about her distant son.

Ms. Kuang has eight siblings and her mother passed away years ago. Her ninety-plus father fell to the ground recently, causing a debate on how to better take care of him. She recommended to her brothers and sisters that he should be checked into her retirement home for the sake of mutual convenience. However the idea was dismissed by her siblings, fearing that it might lead to accusation of negligence of filial duties. At the same time, the father’s health deteriorates…

As for Ms. Xie, she divorced long ago and has a son working in far away Sichuan. She is well used to loneliness due to long periods of solitary life and when her son gets married, she refuses to live with him, fearing conflicts with her daughter-in-law. She chooses the retirement home instead, as she is quite extrovert. Here she finds her life’s passion –shared with Ms Kuang- in dancing and choreography, things she never tried when she was young. But just when she’s having the time of her life, she is caught off guard by symptoms of cancer...

Our camera will reveal how today's urban China can be reflected by the story of those two heroines who find themselves, away from their families, in a retirement home. Here, in the wake of serious health considerations, they have to build new relationships, define a new rhythm to their daily life and invent new ways to be with others.