Writer-director Lam Can-zhao’s Where the Sun Shines Bright follows five children growing up in a village in southern China, where many parents have left for the cities to work. At the center is 18-year-old Hong (Lan Jianhong), who faces the uncertainty of adulthood while seeing parts of his own story reflected in four younger children around him.
Seven-year-old Aileen (Weng Qi) sets out for the city carrying a red egg as she searches for her absent mother, while 12-year-old Dan (Liu Yikai) struggles with bullying and a strained relationship with his father. Thirteen-year-old Xuan (Fang Lexuan) is dealing with puberty, particularly his changing voice, which threatens his dream of reuniting with his parents. Meanwhile, Tia (Yang Kexin) turns to TikTok and dance while trying to accept her new stepmother, Wenyan (Jin Sha). These stories allow Lam to look at loneliness from different angles. Aileen searches for her mother, Dan deals with problems at school and home, Xuan becomes anxious about a change he cannot control, and Tia finds an outlet through dance and social media. Hong, meanwhile, is caught between childhood and adulthood, unsure of what comes next.
What I like most about Where the Sun Shines Bright is that it does not turn these situations into heavy melodrama. Lam lets the children remain curious, awkward, frustrated, and hopeful. Their problems are serious, but the film finds its emotional weight in the ordinary moments between them rather than constantly telling us how to feel.
“… five children in a village in China, where parents have left for the cities to work. “
The village is also an important part of the storytelling. Lam uses the rural setting to show what happens when parents leave their children behind to work in the cities. The cinematography by Gou Hao Kun and Pan Wen-hua gives the different stories distinct textures while keeping them connected to the same environment. The music by Tôn Thất An and Marcus Rice adds to the film’s quiet atmosphere without overpowering it.
The film also finds memorable details in childhood itself, from Aileen’s red egg to Xuan’s changing voice and Tia’s obsession with dance and social media. These small details make their problems feel personal rather than simply turning them into examples of a larger social issue. At the center are the young performers, most of whom are non-professional actors. Weng Qi brings a natural innocence to Aileen, while Liu Yikai and Fang Lexuan give Dan and Xuan an understated quality that keeps their struggles believable. Yang Kexin also brings energy to Tia, while Jin Sha provides a quieter adult presence as Wenyan.
Where the Sun Shines Bright is interesting because it takes a familiar coming-of-age story and places it inside a specific social reality. The absence of parents affects family relationships, school life, confidence, and the way these children imagine their futures. Lam doesn’t suggest that they all experience that absence in the same way. Some of the stories are more emotionally effective than others, and the film can occasionally feel too carefully controlled. Still, Lam Can-zhao creates a thoughtful portrait of children learning to live with separation and change, finding small moments of connection as they move toward adulthood.
"… finds emotional weight in the ordinary moments "
