Every frame of this movie is exquisitely considered without seeming fussy or stagy.

A touching portrait of love and resiliency in a collapsing rural community of Gansu Province.

It’s a gorgeous, quietly affecting film that finds an unassuming beauty in this simple life in rural China, but which doesn’t shy away from the extreme hardships faced by the very poorest.

Though, ultimately, Return to Dust cannot level off its emotionally-manipulative streak, the story and cinematography remain memorable.