Stonewalling

Incendiary contemporary portrayal of gig-economy China where young flight attendant student Lynn tries to turn her unwanted pregnancy into financial gain.

Through the experiences of a twenty-year-old woman, directors couple Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka (The Foolish Bird, GFF 2018) reflect collective norms and values in Chinese society. Not least regarding the view of pregnancy and motherhood after decades of the one-child policy. Student Lynn seeks a path to adulthood and jumps from one odd job to another. She becomes pregnant but hides it from her boyfriend and returns to the parental home. She wants neither to have children nor to have an abortion, and begins to think about an alternative that could avert a financial threat hanging over the parents. Stonewalling is both a moving and disturbing film about a harsh reality, portrayed with precision, acuity, and authenticity.

• Johan Blomqvist