Luxury Car

Over the past month of Olympics mania, the Chinese have been both so glorified and so vilified that it’s hard to tell what the real China — and its normal people — is like. Those interested in seeing a more nuanced portrait of the very complex nation might check out Luxury Car, a film by Chinese director Wang Chao, screening at Rice Cinema. It follows an aging man who’s returned to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, set on the Yangtze river. The man is in pursuit of his missing son. He can’t locate the son but does find his daughter, who works as an escort in a karaoke bar. She can’t help her father much, because she’s sleeping with (and pregnant by) her gangster boss — who may or may not have something to do with the brother’s whereabouts. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Rice University, 6100 Main. For information, call 713-348-3138 or visit ricecinema.rice.edu. $6.
Fri., Aug. 29, 8 p.m.; Sat., Aug. 30, 8 p.m., 2008