Bubbling spring = Quan shi ding dong

The film revolves around the children of a newly forged community. When she was a little girl, Granny Tao used a warm heart to bridge the divide between her and her stepmother, which gave her the strength to help others learn to care for those around them. It’s not long, however, before the naughty child Xiao Hou (lit. “Little Monkey”) starts playing around on the dangerous high wall, injuring Bingbing’s arm, knocking over ink bottles and ruining the music student Xueli’s university graduation assignment.
Xueli is angry that her Granny Tao opened her home to these children and leaves home. Granny Tao becomes so distressed by these events that she falls ill, and the children go to find help. When Xueli is advised by her friends to return home to help her ailing grandma, she is stunned to find the previously raucous children diligently caring for the old woman. Xueli is moved by this to find inspiration for a graduation piece even better than her first, which she names “Spring Water Ding-Dong”.

Cultural History of the Film:
The film is a commentary on the social changes taking place within China at the time, as well as emphasising the importance of the happiness and education of a community’s children. After moving into one of the government’s newly constructed residential buildings, people from many different walks of life are faced with the joys and trials of forging a new community. China today is filled with such communities, which sprang up as a result of these government-constructed residential buildings, and the film provides a valuable glimpse into how life was at the beginning of this significant development, and how the struggles of living in such communities shaped the lives of those children, who are now the parents of today.
(2 stars - James Donald; December 15, 2010)