A First Farewell

Wang Lina's Berlinale award-winner debut unveils poetry of Xinjiang Uighurs' life like none other. She tugs viewers' heartstrings showing how treasures in the carefree childhood of an endearing boy fade, as love, home, and personal advancement get weighed against another for minority children in a heavenly village, who must bid many farewells to assimilate into the widely acknowledged best life.