Noble Love

This film is adapted from a true story. In the autumn of 2001, a pair of outdoor enthusiasts discovered two elderly people in a remote and rarely visited deep forest, who turned out to be Shi Shan (played by Wang Shihuai) and Hong Gu (played by Xie Lan), missing from their village for over forty years. Living as though in a primitive society of slash-and-burn cultivation, they resided in an earthen house they built themselves, illuminated by homemade oil lamps, subsisting on their own crops, and drinking spring water from the mountain. Self-sufficient in every way, they had children and reaped steadfast devotion through the decades. Over nearly half a century, Shi Shan carved over 6,000 stone steps on the mountain with his own hands, to prevent his beloved from stumbling when she left the house, transforming from a young man with black hair to an old man with white hair. These 6,000 stone steps, known as the "Ladder of Love," invoke profound reflection on eternal love...

Directed by Xianglin Zhang, Noble Love leans on a strong ensemble — Xie Lan, Ge Sang, Wang Shihuai — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about romance titles of 2013.