给阿嬷的情书

This film is a strong contender for the highest-rated movie in China of the year.

The story follows a young man who travels from Swatow to Bangkok to seek financial help from his grandfather, Zheng—a man he has never met. In Thailand, Zheng is celebrated as a wealthy philanthropist with numerous schools named in his honor.

However, the protagonist discovers that Zheng passed away long ago. The true history reveals that Zheng immigrated to Thailand and established private schools to teach Chinese at a time when teaching foreign languages was illegal. During his life, Zheng saved his landlord from a fire and invited the landlord’s daughter, Xie, to study Chinese. Zheng eventually died in work, leaving Xie to continue his educational mission and manage his correspondence back home.

A letter reporting Zheng’s death was lost during a typhoon, leaving only a photograph of Zheng and Xie surrounded by students. Misinterpreting the photo as evidence of infidelity, Zheng’s wife in China rejected all subsequent letters and support.

Forty years later, the truth surface. Zheng’s former students, now successful adults, pooled their resources to build schools in his name. The film concludes with a meeting between the two elderly women—Zheng’s wife and Xie—finally resolving decades of silence and misunderstanding.