Canneseries: China’s ‘To the Wonder’ Is a Politically Correct Tale of Multicultural Romance and Self-Discovery
variety.comPatrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief China’s video streamers, much like their counterparts in the west, have passed their peak growth phase and have been forced to refocus their efforts on achieving profitability.
In the case of IQiyi, which is a subsidiary of tech giant Baidu but has its own stock market listing on the NASDAQ, that transition has meant reduced content spending and a more rigorous approach to quality and investment in winning shows. “To the Wonder,” which debuted on Sunday in competition at Canneseries, is a product of that less-is-more approach.
It follows the appearance of IQiyi’s crime drama “Why Try to Change Me Now” in the 2023 Berlin Series lineup. The eight-part “To the Wonder,” which shares a title with the 2012 fantasy film by Terrence Malick but has no connection to it, is a big-budget heart-warmer that stars Ma Yili (“The First Half of My Life”), Zhou Yiran (“Across the Furious Sea”) and Yu Shi.
Co-written by Teng Congcong (“Send Me to the Clouds”) and Peng Yining as an adaptation of a novel by Li Juan, with Teng also in the directing chair, the show is a slow-burn romantic tale set in Xinjiang. “To the Wonder” sees a young woman from China’s dominant Han ethnic group, whose literary ambitions have been frustrated during her time in the big city, return to the small town in Xinjiang where she grew up.
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