Brief History of a Family

“Over the course of the film, Brief History of a Family organizes itself within the context of China’s one-child policy.”

Title: Brief History of a Family (2024) / Simplified Chinese: 家庭简史
Director: Jianjie Lin 👨🏻🇨🇳
Writer: Jianjie Lin 👨🏻🇨🇳

Reviewed by Li 👩🏻🇺🇸

Technical: 4/5

The experience of watching Jianjie Lin’s formally strict Brief History of a Family makes a strong impression, even more so than its simple plot. The director’s feature debut, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival yesterday afternoon, follows a privileged family of three—mom, dad, and teenage son—living in a cold, modernist home that feels plucked from the pages of Dwell magazine. When the son, Wei (Muran Lin), has a chance encounter with his reserved classmate Shuo (Xilun Sun), the two become friends. But before Wei can think twice, Shuo’s tragic home life ingratiates him to Wei’s parents, who eagerly absorb the orphan-like teen into their family unit.

Recalling other stories of social interlopers, such as Saltburn (2023) and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Lin’s film sets a few narrative wheels in motion, then sits back to watch as its four main characters adjust—often poorly—to their new group dynamic. But while the runtime hums with visual and aural tension, brought to life through vivid soundscapes, its characterizations feel a bit flat. Part of this is by design: Lin says in the film’s press notes, “The more I thought of Shuo's character … the more I was drawn to the idea of not knowing much about him.” And it’s true, the movie’s open-endedness gives viewers the opportunity to craft their own interpretations. But there’s also something to be said for adding more concrete details for audiences to chew on. In that regard, Brief History of a Family keeps its cards too close to its chest, feeling thin rather than mysterious. But when a movie is this beautiful to look at and listen to, it almost doesn’t matter what story is being told; just sit back and immerse yourself in its eerie, crystalline world.

Gender: 2/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? NOPE

With three of four main characters being men, and written and directed by a male filmmaker, there’s not much space for women in Brief History of a Family. Wei’s mom, played by Ke-Yu Guo, does have substantial screen time, but she never interacts with other women—at least, not without mentioning her son, and only in the presence of her husband.

The film never resorts to caricatures, so she does have dimension; when Shuo comes across old photographs of Wei’s mother, she delightedly shares an anecdote from before she was married. But she also strongly sticks to traditional gender roles, a housewife characterized almost entirely by her ability to have and raise kids.

Race: 5/5

Chinese director Lin assembles an international group of collaborators on this project, including Chinese producers, Chinese director of photography Jiahao Zhang, Danes Per K. Kirkegaard (editor) and Toke Brorson Odin (composer), and French sound designer Margot Testemale. With their combined efforts, Brief History of a Family feels universal, almost untethered. Wei’s family could come from anywhere, their experiences of isolation and longing—recognizable across cultures.

Within this sense of ambiguity, Lin artfully injects some subtle but crucial specificity. Through backstories that slowly rise to the surface, the film reorganizes itself within the context of China’s one-child policy, which officially lasted from 1980 to 2016. (Today, China still restricts family planning to three children per couple.) With each revealing scene that passes, audiences learn that some of the grief and motivations for Wei’s mother, who (to Wei’s consternation) eagerly takes Shuo under her wing, relate to this draconian policy, its effects still being grappled with by Chinese families today.

Deduction for LGBTQ: -0.25

The film has a brief same-sex kiss that’s one-sided. Though neutrally presented, with almost no visible reaction (the character receiving the kiss pretends to be asleep), the film’s overall sense of lilting unease extends to this scene. After it’s over, it appears to be the straw to break the camel’s back, the characters’ relationship disintegrating from mistrust to outright hostility after this seeming admission of queer, romantic interest.

Mediaversity Grade: B- 3.58/5

On the inclusion front, Brief History of a Family deftly presents a universal yet uniquely Chinese story, but it does let down its main female character by defining her through men and her fertility. As a work of art, though, Lin successfully traps audiences willing to dive into its alienating landscape of lonely, unknowable creatures, making for a fraught movie that’s gorgeous to look at and addictively spine-tingling.

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Grade: BLiJanuary 20, 2024Great for: Race