No Changes Have Taken In Our Life

Ba graduates from college with a major in sousaphone. With his suitcase packed and his instrument straddled to his body, he returns to his hometown, optimistic about finding a satisfactory job as a musical artist. When his father kicks him out for refusing to play for his new girlfriend, Ba begins a journey through the rundown streets of the small, working-class town, encountering a series of taciturn characters both new and familiar. Filmmaker Xu Jingwei’s distinctive animation captures a deadpan, monotonous ennui that is simultaneously humorous and tragic. While Ba’s need for a job becomes increasingly dire, No Changes Have Taken In Our Life is not simply a reflection on this post-graduate dilemma, but an exploration of the desire to progress in a place set in its ways.