Background and development

Husband-and-wife duo Ryuji Otsuka and Huang Ji are filmmakers based in Japan.^[4] Stonewalling is the third and final film in a trilogy that includes Egg and Stone (2012) and The Foolish Bird (2017), films which depict the hardships and sexuality of young women in contemporary China.^[5][4] Stonewalling focuses on the passage of time and changes in the body and mind of a young woman as depicted through pregnancy.^[5] The film began as an artistic answer to a question the duo's daughter asked Huang: "Why did you give birth to me?" The film evolved over time and the ending was completely changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[6] It was produced by Otsuka through their own company Yellow-Green Pi.^[7]

The film stars Yao Honggui, who also appeared in the first two films, and was tailored to reflect Honggui's own bodily experiences during production.^[8] At the time of production, Honggui had moved from her home in rural Hunan to study at a university in the provincial capital, Changsha. Huang and Otsuka interviewed several young women in Changsha who similarly had moved from rural Hunan to study at a university in Changsha. Their research focused on the students' lifestyle, including their spending habits, financial security and their part-time work situation. The students were also questioned about their relationship with their parents and intimate partners.^[5] Huang and Otsuka wanted to examine contemporary social phenomena in urban China, including the increasing gig economy and grey markets, with a spotlight on influencer culture on platforms such as TikTok and viral news stories about egg donation and surrogacy.^[1][5][9] Similar to Honggui, the entire cast is composed of nonprofessional actors.^[9]

Huang has explained that their motivation with Stonewalling was to bring attention to "the plight of young women who have not been blessed with a good education" and "their struggles in finding their place in a rapidly changing society."^[9]

The film's title in Chinese translates to "stone gate". The English title was suggested to the directors by one of their student interviewees. Otsuka explained that the original title "feels too hard and cold. The verb in present continuous – "walling" – made the title softer. It corresponds with Lynn's state of mind and heart as she goes through changes."^[5]

Filming

Stonewalling was primarily shot in a small town in Hunan, in the clinic of Huang Ji's parents, who appear in the film as Lynn's parents.^[8] The pair also shot scenes in Changsha to reflect Lynn's "adult circumstances and need for work".^[9] The film was shot a small budget,^[4] with a crew consisting of three people. The film was shot between 2019 and 2020 over the course of 10 months, which was a conscious choice on behalf of the directors to mimic the gestation period of a pregnancy.^[9][8] The film took a total of three years to complete and was challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic.^[9] Otsuka also served as director of photography and production designer.^[4] Although shot in China, the film is classified as a Japanese production.^[10] Post-production was conducted outside China.^[5]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 94% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10.^[15] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 8 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".^[16] The film was named one of the best movies of 2023 by Manohla Dargis of The New York Times.^[17]

Accolades