delighted audiences number film festivals hard see why director yang zhang help nice work three principle actors xu zhu father master liu quanxin pu elder son da ming especially wu jiang irrepressible lovable younger son er ming spins tale warm coldest heartbr br the film starts man taking shower automated booth middle beijing puts money slot opens door takes clothes puts conveyor belt cleaned steps shower gets cleaned brushes squirts water soap though hes car car wash future symbolically speaking old bathhouse see next scene past agrarian china giving way industrial chinabr br pollution cultural revolution hangover industrialization blues way celebration people kindness love one another celebration goodness hearts men yet wonder chinese government views film one hand clearly presents pleasant view china people stringently nonpolitical without criticism present regime expressed implied yet slightest sense good old ways going replaced something may good think yang zhang wisdom let may tell story old men bathhouse get back rubs massages tell tall tales reminisce good old days relax play chinese chess stage cricket fights master spry wise old guy assistant son may retarded autistic job glee infectious spirit fun good willbr br enter back scene older son da ming polished well groomed taciturn uncomfortable sees unsophisticated behavior father brother represents modern china tie briefcase cell phone education returned thought father dying sees true packs bags set return wife career crisis ensues crisis da ming sees value natural peoplecentered life father brother livingbr br and yang zhang reconciles old new charming manner object especially since style neat carefully expressed one nice things miss movies way dovetails subplots within larger story resolved picture ends bathhouse regular sings o sole mio bathhouse water showers upon him much delight er ming finds cant sing public stage fright near end film loses stage fright sings thanks inspired help er ming bathhouse regular losing wife becausewell tells tale master liu confesses real reason liu understands movie over husband wife reconciledbr br this kind happy ending moviemaking unusual today artistic international films almost film directed adults happy endings contrived embarrass contrivers audiences blatantly condescending audience offended however audience delightedbr br see especially comedic performance wu jiang whose warm effervescence overcomes handicap character may have