“Three months after college ended, I woke up yet again far from home. This time, China captivated my present. Following graduation, I decided to really learn this tricky language called Mandarin and committed to a year teaching English in Shanghai. What a formative year it turned out to be, full of long nights spent studying and early days trying to convince five-year-olds that I, a foreigner, had something interesting to say.”

—Courtney Olsen (BAFLL Three Languages 2012)

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So Close to Paradise

Posted on July 25, 2018

Call Number: Digital Video

Alternate Title:Biandan, guniang

Year: 1998

Director: Xiaoshuai Wang

Duration: 93 mins

Language(s): Mandarin

Subtitle Language(s): English

Two young farm workers, who like millions of others, leave their village to seek their fortunes in the city. Each chose a vastly different path to make it and become embroiled in misunderstandings, gangster brawls and police raids.