Oh, the woman next door is so beautiful! 10-year-old Tiedan falls head-over-heels in love when his father forms a singing duo with ‘sister Mei from next door’. The pair achieve fame as performers of er-ren-rai, a form of mini-opera consisting of ‘oh-la-la’ texts and very popular in northwestern China. But Tiedan’s hot-tempered neighbour is not impressed, and drags his wife back home. Shortly afterwards, the Red Guards temporarily put an end to this form of entertainment in the name of the Cultural Revolution. When he’s grown up, Tiedan becomes an er-ren-rai singer of exceptional talent. And falls head-over-heels in love with all three daughters of the woman next door – one after the other. Love Songs of Tiedan is a musical comedy in a partly historical setting, with an ethnographic slant, a pinch of romance and a drop of tragedy. A film that is as wayward as it is engaging. And with an exceptional triple role for Ye Lan, who not only plays the woman next door, but also her eldest and youngest daughters.
