Four year old Qiangqiang [Dong Bowen] is left in a nursery by his parents whose work involves much travelling. Little Qiang finds it difficult to fit into the strict routine of the nursery.
The workers include the strict Li [Rui Zhao] and the kinder Tang [Li Xiaofeng]. They award the little red flowers of the (English) title to the kids when they follow the rules and take them back when they don’t.
The imaginative Qiangqiang spreads a rumour that Teacher Li is a child-eating monster which leads to a mini-rebellion.
As far as the story goes, that’s about it. The film is engaging if you like this kind of thing but there is a lack of any real plot development and ultimately it’s a bit self-indulgent by Zhang Yuan.
One might strongly suspect that there is an element of autobiography for both Wang Shuo (author of the novel on which the film is based) and director Zhang Yuan (who even looks like Qiangqiang), both known for their non-conformism. Qiangqiang, like Zhang, is rebellious but also covets official recognition (the little red flowers in this case).
Some reviews have suggested that the film is an allegory about the excesses of collectivisation. This seems frankly laughable, although no doubt the opportunistic Zhang may well have predicted such a response.
In fact the nursery routine seems quite benign and the workers try to be kind to the kids. Given the numbers they have to deal with the regimentation is predictable and less grim than that seen in many western films about young children in institutional settings. Insofar as there is a broader message, it would seem to be that this is life and rules will still exist even after one leaves the nursery.
The kids include Zhang’s daughter Ning Yuanyuan.
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