A multi-generational drama set largely along the Yangtze River, Sheng Zhimin’s Bliss captures the quiet, intimate details of life in a sprawling, industrialized Chinese city. The film offers a glimpse into a culture that is struggling to redefine and comprehend a shifting idea of family.

Cab driver Jian-jun is married to Sun, a factory worker facing a possible lay off. Tension arises between his father, Lao Li, and step-mother, Xiue, when Lao Li’s estranged first wife dies suddenly without a suitable place for her remains. Complicating matters is the arrival of Xiue’s troubled son, Lei, just released from jail.

The title of this delicate film of nuance and color may be a simple irony that underscores the sadness and uncertainty its characters share. And it may be referring to the promised, elusive state of Nirvana implied by the Buddha’s presence at the film’s start. Ultimately, one comes to understand that the bliss of Bliss is of the marital variety. It is a condition that arises from a union in which compassion and connection are expressed by small gestures and the assurance of knowing that a family takes care of its own. - Jonathan Knipp