At the heart of the film is the relationship between Huanyu, thirty-two years spent in the wrong body, and his father Jianguo.

A widower and devout member of a Christian community, Jianguo is not ready to sign off on Huanyu's operation – permitted by law – but requiring the permission of family members, despite the patient being an adult.

Jianguo is completely lost in the definitions of transgender, homosexual, sick or sinful, and seeks outside guidance. But the religious community's inflexibility and society’s prejudices lead to tragedy, which, from a narrative perspective works as a Deus ex-machina to the plot, as it forces Jianguo to look within his soul to find the strength to accept his child.

If the physical change that Huanyu craves for his body is enormous, perhaps even greater is the mental change his farther undergoes.

The Rib is Zhang Wei’s sixth feature film, in which he once again gives us a realistic depiction of a social conflict in an unassuming storyline that makes room for nuance.

• 2019 | Durban International Film Festival | Nominated for Best Film