Shower (Xizao)

Released 1999
Stars Zhu Xu, Pu Cun Xin, Jiang Wu, He Zheng
Directed by Zhang Yang

Shower examines the current state of Chinese culture where traditions are being abandoned by the modern world. A young wealthy businessman's icy attitude toward his working-class background is about to thaw as he is forced to reconnect with his elderly father and mentally challenged younger brother, who together run a public bathhouse.

After receiving a cryptic postcard from his brother, Da Ming (Pu Cun Xin) believes that his elderly father has died. He takes time off from his high-paying job in the ultra-modernized region of Shenzhen to head north to the home of his youth in Beijing, only to find his father alive and well. As events turn dark, Da Ming must finally learn to shed his self-imposed class and social superiority for the good of his family. In the process he will rediscover the bathhouse's magical powers.

Summary from netflix.com

The highlight of this film was the relationship between the father and his retarded son. It wasn't the centerpiece of the film, but it was its heart. It was a joyous expression of love. -- Bill Alward