In the Heat of the Sun

In the Heat of the Sun is a 1994 Chinese film directed and written by Jiang Wen. This was Jiang Wen's first foray into directing after years as a leading man. The film is based loosely on author Wang Shuo's novel Wild Beast.

Plot
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 and the school system is extremely nonfunctional.

Most of the story happens during one summer, so the main characters are even more free because there is no school. The events of that summer revolve around Monkey's dalliances with his roguish male friends, and his subsequent angst-filled crush on one of the older female characters, Mi Lan (Ning Jing). Mi Lan falls instead for Monkey's friend, Liu Yiku.

Cast
Jiang Wen cast three youngsters with no acting experience but with notable athletic experiences: Xia Yu was the skateboarding champion in his hometown Qingdao, Tao Hong was a synchronized swimmer on the Chinese national team, while Zuo Xiaoqing was a rhythmic gymnast also on the Chinese national team. All three enrolled in professional acting schools within a year of the film's release (Xia and Tao went to Jiang's alma mater Central Academy of Drama, while Zuo was accepted to Beijing Film Academy) and became successful actors.
 * Han Dong - Ma Xiaojun (S: 马小军, T:馬小軍, P: Mǎ Xiǎojūn, young boy)
 * Xia Yu - Ma Xiaojun (teenage Monkey). Wendy Larson, author of From Ah Q to Lei Feng: Freud and Revolutionary Spirit in 20th Century China, wrote that the selection of "an awkward-looking boy" who "contrasts with the more conventional tall good looks" of Liu Yiku was clever on part of Jiang Wen, and that Xia Yu "portrays [Ma Xiaojun] as charmingly shy and mischievous in social relationships yet forceful and engaging in his emotions." The character has the nickname "Monkey" in the film version. "Monkey" was the nickname of director Jiang Wen. Derek Elley of Variety says that Xia as Xiaojun has "both an uncanny resemblance to Jiang himself and a likable combination of insolence and innocence."
 * Feng Xiaogang - Mr. Hu (S: 胡老师, T: 胡老師, Hú-lǎoshī), the teacher
 * Geng Le - Liu Yiku (S: 刘忆苦, T: 劉憶苦, P: Liú Yìkǔ, teenage)
 * Jiang Wen - Ma Xiaojun (adult; narrator)
 * Ning Jing - Mi Lan (S: 米 兰, T: 米 蘭, P: Mǐ Lán)
 * Tao Hong - Yu Beibei (于北蓓 Yú Běibèi). In the beginning Yu Beibei accompanies the boys and gives rise to sexual tension amongst them, but after Mi Lan is introduced, Yu Beibei does not appear with the group until the second telling of the birthday party. Larson states that Yu Beibei "is a significant character" in the first part of the film and that her disappearance is a "persistent clue that all is not as it seems".
 * Shang Nan - Liu Sitian (S: 刘思甜, T:劉思甜, P: Liú Sītián)
 * Wang Hai - Big Ant
 * Liu Xiaoning - Liu Yiku (adult)
 * Siqin Gaowa - Zhai Ru (翟 茹 Zhái Rú - Xiaojun's mother)
 * Wang Xueqi - Ma Wenzhong (S: 马文中, T:馬文中, P: Mǎ Wénzhōng - Xiaojun's father)
 * Fang Hua - Old general
 * Dai Shaobo - Yang Gao (羊搞 Yáng Gǎo)
 * Zuo Xiaoqing – Zhang Xiaomei