NextFilm

Memory of Encaustic Tile (2022)

昔有琉璃瓦

Inside the Beijing hutongs where professionals who engage in art conservation and restoration live is a story between a museum conservator and a translator. Shao Xue, Zheng Sunian, and Zhang Qi are children of museum conservators. They share many experiences growing up having lived through the SARS epidemic, the death of their loved ones, and the old city being demolished to forge a deep friendship with each other. As they grow up, everyone starts to choose different paths. Influenced by Zheng Sunian's mother, Shao Xue is unwilling to give up the infinite possibilities of the future for the sake of love and leaves home to search for greener pastures. Zheng Sunian inherits the legacy left by his mother to become a conservator-restorer and finds meaning through the preservation of cultural artifacts. Zhang Qi earns the opportunity to study abroad due to his mathematical skills. Before leaving, he decides to bury his feelings for Shao Xue.