A Young Patriot
Zhou is a flag-waving, slogan-shouting Chinese teenager who is emblematic of a generation of youth born after the 1980s, who are so fervent in their patriotism that some fear they are tipping into a dangerous type of nationalism.
A generation of Chinese youth born since 1990 are reviving an old tradition of uniform-wearing, flag-waving, slogan-shouting patriotism. They throw parades and march in old military uniforms, worship Mao Zedong, and express an almost ecstatic level of uncritical love for their country.
Zhao Changtong is a teenage art student born in 1990 and known in the streets of Pingyao as "Mr. Patriotic Maniac." Despite his passion for the "new China," his family lives in poverty and with the constant tension of a shifting political landscape. Filmmaker Du Haibin follows Zhai over three years as he becomes a young adult and must reconcile his own failures and the economic and political realities of modern China with his fervent love of the communist ideal.