Taming the Fish

Directed by Ding Jiancheng

After years of unsuccessful work in the city, Desheng returned to his hometown to raise fish, marry and start a family. When Ding Jiancheng first filmed him in 2001, he was 29, and his home was full of happiness. Twenty-four years later, the filmmaker returns to find Desheng, now 53, living with his grown daughter beside the same fish pond. His parents have died, and his wife has left the village following their divorce. An ancient Chinese legend tells of a carp that becomes a dragon by leaping over the Dragon Gate. Like that fish, Desheng once left his small pond for wider rivers and oceans. Now back where his life began, has he been tamed by fate?