Zhang Yimou is a great storyteller. Since the days of his smaller and censored films such as The Story of Qui Ju or Red Lanterns, telling stories of the Chinese people overwhelmed by power has been his forte. Censored, threatened, he then found peace and commercial success with his wuxia trilogy of ancient China such as Hero and The Forest of Flying Daggers.

Today he returns with a small story that pays homage to cinema and film . A journey into the memory of a cinema that once was, that of the poor people who anxiously awaited the screenings of films (even if blatantly propaganda) and newsreels. A secular ritual that united a country and spent 2 hours away from the fatigue of work.

One second starts from a personal drama (that of a fugitive internee who hasn't seen his daughter for years) to become a letter of love for cinema, for that image which, when impressed on film, can make us cry, move us and experience something impossible. One second can really be enough to fall in love with this art and everything it can bring us.

Of course, One Second is not free from emotional excesses and a basic sentimentalism that is sometimes exaggerated which tends to weigh down the film even if, thanks to a limited use of the soundtrack, everything is more acceptable; the screenplay is at times too schematic and Manichean and makes the characters one-dimensional. However, the photography of both the interiors and the desert is truly remarkable and the narrative fluidity is unquestionable.

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