Return to DustPG

Directed by Li Ruijun | China | 2022 | 2h 14m | Mandarin Chinese w/ English subtitles | Starring Renlin Wu, Hai-Qing, Guangrui Yang, Dengping Zhao

In rural China, two middle-aged singletons are cast off by their families and forced into an arranged marriage. What seems at first like an odd and doomed relationship gradually blossoms into a tender companionship as they both build a home together. While navigating topics such as the exploitation of farm workers and forced urbanisation, Li Ruijun’s hypnotic drama is also a poetic and humane portrait of unlikely love.

Reviews

‘It’s a gorgeous, quietly affecting film that finds an unassuming beauty in this simple life in rural China, but which doesn’t shy away from the extreme hardships faced by the very poorest.’ 
★★★★
Wendy Ide, The Observer

‘Return to Dust is many things — a vivid portrait of China’s hardscrabble rural north-west, an unexpected victim of state censorship — but it is first and last a love story.’
★★★★
Danny Leigh, The FT

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Return to Dust between November 25, 2022 and December 1, 2022.

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What else is on?

Today (Monday 12th May)

20:30

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Deaf/HOH Subtitles
2h 18m
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Tomorrow (Tuesday 13th May)

18:00

The Ugly Stepsister 18
£6 for Members
1h 45m | Norwegian w/ English subtitles
In a fairy-tale kingdom, Elvira’s jealousy drives her to horrifying extremes. This bold Cinderella reimagining fuses dark folklore with unsettling body horror, exposing the ruthless pressures of beauty in a grotesque, feminist fairytale.

Book here

20:30

April 15
£6 for Members
2h 14m | Georgian w/ English subtitles
A Georgian obstetrician’s life unravels when she’s accused of malpractice. Dea Kulumbegashvili’s gripping drama examines autonomy, gender, and power in an isolated community, delivering a poignant exploration of one woman’s fight for justice.

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Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road. We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We don’t show adverts, just a couple of trailers, so don't be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!