Ode to the Spring

Since the beginning of the Covid outbreak, Li has been taking care of his girlfriend Xiaoyu and his future mother-in-law, both of whom are taken to different hospitals with Covid symptoms. For the sake of Xiaoyu’s recovery, Li decides to withhold the news of her mother’s critical condition. A doctors’ couple struggle to keep up with lack of PPE and a growing influx of patients. At the same time, they must reckon with what the exposure to the virus might mean for themselves and their family. Two opportunistic traders plan to sell masks for a profit. When they approach the deserted city, they reassess their plan. During the lockdown, local secretary Jia is busy resolving conflicts between neighbors. His words often fall on deaf ears, until he is struck down with fever himself. Primary schoolboy Lele learns from his father that his mother may have contracted the virus. In a bid to save his mother, Lele imagines himself as his hero, mythical child-warrior Nezha, beating the virus. Despite fear and tiredness, everyone plays a role in fighting the pandemic, hoping that Spring will come soon. (Trinity CineAsia)