Living Dream (1995)

China, early 1970's. The Cultural Revolution takes root. And on the banks of the Yangzi River, a nine-years-old boy, Little Rabbit, comes to live with his Granduncle, a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, and his beautiful nineteen-years-old cousin, Lotus, in a small fishing village. Since Little Rabbit's father was sent to a labor camp for his anti-cultural revolution behavior, his mother has little time to care for Little Rabbit while performing in a theater group on tour for local factories and villages. Little Rabbit's mother hopes that the tranquil countryside village will provide a cure for her troubled son. He befriends a young boy and discovers the simple pleasures of village life, playing with Lotus' pet water buffalo, Shun Shun. But after overhearing that his father is seeking a divorce from his mother, Little Rabbit reverts to a dream world from which no one can extract him, living a life of solitude and introversion. He walks in his sleep. Little Rabbit is overcome by a feeling that an unspeakable danger is lurking in the village. His Auntie Lotus becomes the object of the local Boatman's lascivious desires. Little Rabbit dislikes the Boatman who taunts him with stories about his father. After a visit with school friends in the city, Lotus journeys home with her beloved Shun Shun and is met by the Boatman. He escorts her home. Entranced by Lotus' beauty, the Boatman is mesmerized by her soft, supple skin, the curve of her white neck, and the fullness of her breasts. He covets her. Then, as they near the village amidst the darkness, he succumbs to his uncontrollable urges and grabs Lotus off Shun Shun, throwing her to the ground. Blinded with raging desire, he rapes her. He buries an unconscious Lotus. Meanwhile, the Granduncle alarmed that his daughter has not yet returned, he searches for sings of Lotus in the fields amidst the darkness, only to meet his death with a blow from the Boatman. Overcome with a shuddering uneasiness, a slumbering Little Rabbit walks in the night. Shun Shun leads Little Rabbit to the site where Lotus is buried. He unconsciously digs her up and returns to his bed. Raging with anger, Lotus' beloved Shun Shun stampedes the Boatman's home, killing his pet dog. Wrought with fear, a nervous Boatman cowers in a comer as he hears his avenger near. Justice prevails. The next morning, Little Rabbit awakes to a changed village. He remembers nothing.