The Gardener and the Dictator is an intimate documentary by Hui Wang that gives us a glimpse into the last century of China's tumultuous history. It tells a profoundly intimate and quirky love story of a remarkable couple in the final years of their lives by interweaving intimate moments and struggles from daily life with memories both joyous and deeply painful.

The title reflects the couple’s contrasting personalities: the grandfather, the calm and nurturing “gardener,” and the grandmother, a strong-willed, witty matriarch affectionately nicknamed “the dictator.” Through Wang’s unobtrusive, observational camera, their tender interactions unfold alongside recollections of surviving some of China’s most turbulent moments, including the Japanese occupation during World War II and the Cultural Revolution. These personal memories transform national history into lived, emotional experience.

Film is in Mardarin with English subtitles.

Chinese description:

影片简介：穿越中国动荡的百年，《老两口》以独特而亲密的笔触，讲述了导演祖父母这一对年迈夫妻的爱情故事。影片将他们温情的日常片段与或喜悦或苦痛的回忆交织，构成一幅关于爱、坚韧与时间的动人肖像