KFC Presents: Dear You (15)
This film is presented by Keswick Film Club as part of its 2026-2027 season. Everyone is welcome, but Membership of the Keswick Film Club costs £10 and then entitles you to a £3 discount on the ticket price of its films (which are shown on most Sundays from September to March, typically at 5pm).
As it is hosted by the Keswick Film Club, which is seperate from the cinema, this film is not included in the Keswick Alhambra Cinema Membership programme. If you are a Keswick Alhambra Cinema Member you can though also join the Keswick Film Club, and at the discounted price of just £5. Just ask the staff in the cinema if you would like to take up this offer.
Dear You (in Teochew, Chaoshan and Thai with English subtitles)
A Chinese drama set during the Civil war when many Teochew-speaking Chinese fled to South East Asia, where they set up homes and continue to this day. Zheng Musheng was one of these, and his family back in China believe he has abandoned them for a successful life there. Their only contact with him are the occasional ‘qiaopi’ he sends to his wife, Ye Shurou - traditional letters with news and, importantly, money.
This has all continued until now when his grandson, Xiaowei, in deep debt, travels to Thailand to find his ‘rich’ grandfather, but what he finds is far more complicated than his family thought. Using a search through a collection of qiaopi he finds as a vehicle, the story transfers back to the 1950s. Just what did Musheng do then, and what happened to him?
Teochew as a language is now spoken mainly by this diaspora of Chinese in Asia, though some still speak it in China. Despite the language, ‘Despite its modest budget, limited initial promotion and largely unknown cast, the movie became a major sleeper hit. It topped the mainland Chinese box office for four consecutive weeks and eventually grossed more than ¥1.8 billion, approximately US$280 million, making it one of the highest grossing Chinese releases of 2026’ - Panos Kotzathanasis, Asian Movie Pulse.
Will we love it as much in Keswick? Let’s hope so!
|