The Days(冬春的日子)

Wang Xiaoshuai’s debut feature was one of the first truly independent Mainland productions. An incisive portrait of urban anomie focusing on two bohemian artists who drift through the miasma of old Beijing in the 1980s, The Days presents a stark disparity to the nostalgic tone and lush visuals of the Fifth Generation with its defiant DIY aesthetic, non-professional leads and resolute present-tenseness.