Synopsis

For four seasons, this confrontational documentary follows Li Baicheng, a traditional Chinese soothsayer, and his deaf and dumb, mentally and physically handicapped wife Little Pearl. In a village not far from Beijing, Li predicts the future for his clientele, which seems primarily to consist of prostitutes. When the police start clamping down on both the sex industry and illegal soothsayers, he feels forced to return with Little Pearl to his home village. The narrative is structured in chapters, a formal reference to the popular fiction of the Qing dynasty.