In the Heat of the Sun (simplified Chinese: 阳光灿烂的日子; traditional Chinese: 陽光燦爛的日子; pinyin: Yángguāng cànlàn de rìzi; literally "Days of the bright and lush sunshine") is a 1994 movie directed by Jiang Wen. This was Jiang Wen's first foray into directing after years as a leading man. The film is based on author Wang Shuo's novel Wild Beast (动物凶猛).
The film is set in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution. It is told from the perspective of Ma Xiaojun nicknamed Monkey (played by Xia Yu; some of Monkey's experiences mimic director Jiang's during the Revolution), who is a teenage boy at the time. Monkey and his friends are free to roam the streets of Beijing day and night because the Cultural Revolution has caused their parents and most adults to be either busy or away. Most of the story happens during one summer, so the main characters are even more free because there is no school, and revolves around Monkey's dalliances with his roguish male friends and his subsequent angst-filled crush with one of the female characters, Mi Lan (Ning Jing).
This film is significant in its unique perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Far from the Cultural Revolution-set films of Chinese
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