Chinese Dialect Film 'Dear You' Becomes Global Box-Office Hit

A Chinese film shot almost entirely in Teochew, a southern Chinese dialect that most Chinese viewers need subtitles to understand, has become one of the year's biggest box-office hits and is now expanding overseas.

"Dear You" has grossed about 269 million yuan ($40 million) in China, making it the country's second-highest-grossing film of the year, according to the film's box office figures. Made on a low budget with mostly unknown actors, the film was shot in Teochew, a dialect spoken in the Shantou region of Guangdong province.

Set among the Teochew immigrant community in Bangkok, the film tells the story of a young man searching for his grandfather, Deng Musheng, using an old remittance letter as his only clue. The story explores the centuries-long history of Chinese migration to Southeast Asia, a subject rarely depicted in mainstream Chinese films.

The film has already screened in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia and was released in Thailand in early August. It is scheduled for release in the United States next month.

Chinese officials have embraced the film's international rollout. China's consul in Sydney said at a June screening that it "reflects the Chinese nation's virtues of diligence, kindness, courage and unity." China's ambassador to Thailand, Zhang Jiangwei, attended a red carpet event this month and said the film was "an excellent vehicle for telling China's story well."

Belinda He, an assistant professor of East Asian cinema and media studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said the film aligns with Beijing's broader goal of "telling China's stories well," emphasizing themes of family and tradition.

The film's director, Lan Hongchun, said he was inspired by stories his grandmother told him about people who migrated to Bangkok. The plot centers on "qiaopi," remittance letters that Chinese immigrants used to send money and news home, often written for them by scribes at offices called "poy kuan."

The film has resonated deeply with Thai audiences of Chinese descent. Sathien Tuntipaiboontana, 74, said scenes depicting the scribes' offices matched his own family's history; his father immigrated from China and never returned. Thitikorn Phanprayoon, a third-generation Thai Chinese moviegoer, said hearing Teochew — the dialect he speaks at home — in the trailer surprised and moved him. "I felt like I was sitting at home," he said.