Chinese Cinema Club: Oxhide II | 牛皮 II
2009, 133 minutes, Directed by Jiayin Liu (劉伽茵)
Breaking new ground in cinematic art, Liu Jiayin’s follow-up to
her masterful debut Oxhide turns a simple dinner into a profoundly intimate study of family relationships.
Building on the stunning vision of Oxhide (voted one of the best Chinese films of the 2000s), writer-director Liu Jiayin once again casts herself and her parents in scripted versions of their life in a tiny Beijing apartment. Liu takes her uncompromising artistry to the extreme, setting all of the action around the family dinner table, which doubles as her father’s leather-making station. As the workbench is cleared for the family to make a dinner of dumplings, the camera catches every meticulous detail of the action in real time. Small moments between family members reveal deep insights into the mysteries of family relations and the art of everyday living.
Oxhide II advances the inimitable artistry of one of China’s most prodigious filmmakers. Its lovingly intimate, naturalistic observations of working-class life suggest “the ultimate work of everyday realism” (Mike Walsh, Real Time Arts). At the same time, “Liu’s shots are carefully, rigorously, exquisitely composed” (Berenice Reynaud, Senses of Cinema), showcasing one of the most gifted visual artists working in China today. The result is “a direct, honest, miniature epic” (Daniel Kasman, MUBI Notebook).
Followed by post-film discussion on dumplings and lunar new year celebration with chef and food writer, Kian Lam Kho (redcook.net).
Tickets
$10/adult; $8/student & senior, Free for MOCA member. Includes special New Year treat.
To purchase tickets, please email
or call 212.619.4785.
The Chinese Cinema Club, a collaboration between dGenerate Films and Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), is a movie club screening Chinese and Chinese American films. The Club leverages MOCA’s downtown space to re-ignite cinema in Chinatown and harness the power of film.
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dGenerate Films brings uncensored, unprecedented and visionary content from deep within mainland China’s independent, and underground, film scene to the U.S. market. (dgeneratefilms.com)






