Please Remember Me

Former school principal 88-year-old Lou has had Alzheimer’s for the last 10 years. She now recognizes almost no one except for her husband Feng. Nonetheless, they live a full and happy life in Shanghai. They practice tai chi every morning, make regular visits to the Peking opera and read poetry to one another. But when Feng himself gets sick, he decides it’s time for them to move into a retirement home. They have almost no one else to care for them; their only son lives in Australia and visits sporadically. The transition from hectic city to rural rest home takes a heavy toll on them both. The subjects of Qing Zhao’s tender portrait are her own great uncle and aunt, whom she followed for three years. She was witness to the unbreakable bond between the couple, and devotes much of her attention to the remarkable history of their love. Feng married Lou when she was 42 years old, following the death of his first wife. Together they survived the Cultural Revolution, during which Feng was denounced and sent far away to Sichuan. As an old Chinese saying goes, “Hold his hand to grow old together.” perfectly encapsulates these words.