A Child Already Knows

A child’s retelling of an escape from Shanghai disguised as a family vacation through the south. Half-remembered scenes of a historical cusp are recalled alongside a montage of appropriated early Mao-era children’s animations of the same period. The work assembles fragmentary memories and images that must be conjured through the mind, in lieu of historical reenactments too costly to make. The child becomes increasingly aware of the world of adult secrets. A television is flickering. Train sounds whir. — Anthology Film Archives

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