The 2010 Berlin Film Festival opened Thursday evening with Wang Quan'an's Apart Together, the tale of a couple separated for decades by both the Taiwan Strait and Chinese politics. Wang, whose Tuya's Marriage won the Golden Bear in 2007, said his drama focuses on "people who are caught up in the flow of history," adding that "reunification is something people in China really yearn for. It's tragic that our country is divided."
Inspired by real-life individuals, Apart Together tells the story of a former anti-communist Kuomintang soldier (Ling Feng) who, fifty years after leaving mainland China, returns to Shanghai to find his first love (Lisa Lu). He had left the country during the 1949 civil war that separated Taiwan from China, and now he discovers that the woman he left behind has married a communist corporal.
This year, Germany itself is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the country's reunification. The 2010 Berlin winners, chosen by a seven-member jury headed by Werner Herzog, will be announced Feb. 20.
Photo: Courtesy of the Berlin Film Festival