Recently, the Chinese film Dear You has become one of the country's biggest word-of-mouth surprises. Made on a relatively modest budget, featuring mostly unknown actors, and released without major commercial hype, the film has nonetheless exploded online through audience recommendations alone.

It currently holds a remarkable 9.1 rating (out of 10) on Douban, China's leading film platform, while box office forecasts from movie data service Beacon Pro suggest it could surpass 1.6 billion yuan ($235 million) and even enter China's top three highest-grossing films of the year.

Now, the film is beginning to reach international audiences as well. On May 15, Dear You held a market screening at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, marking an important step onto the global stage.

French distributor Boris Pugnet said in an interview that he had strong confidence in the film, as the story of ordinary Chinese people from that historical era carries a universal emotional power.

A story told through letters

Set against the cultural backdrop of China's Chaoshan region in the 1940s and modern day, Dear You tells an intimate story of family, migration, love, and separation across generations.

Rather than relying on dramatic twists or explosive conflict, the film quietly builds emotion through letters. In many ways, the letters become emotional time capsules – preserving feelings that would otherwise disappear into silence.

Unlike many Western romance films that emphasize openly expressing love, Dear You reflects a more restrained emotional tradition often found in Chinese culture as love is rarely spoken directly. Instead, it is hidden in patience, responsibility, sacrifice and quiet endurance. That is also why letters occupy such a special place in Chinese storytelling.

Written Chinese has long carried emotional weight beyond literal meaning. A seemingly simple sentence can hold layers of regret, tenderness, longing and restraint. In Dear You, handwritten letters become more than a narrative device – they embody a distinctly East Asian emotional aesthetic, where silence itself becomes part of the language of love.

The historical legacy of 'qiaopi' letters

The letters in the film also evoke the history of "qiaopi" – remittance letters sent home by overseas Chinese migrants, especially from southern coastal regions like Chaoshan and Fujian during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In 2013, "Qiaopi and Yinxin Correspondence and Remittance Documents from Overseas Chinese" were officially inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, recognizing their historical significance as part of humanity's documentary heritage.

At the time, poverty, war and social instability pushed countless Chinese laborers to seek work in Southeast Asia. Many worked in mines, plantations, docks and small trading businesses far from home. Yet despite the physical distance, they remained emotionally tied to their families through letters and remittances.

A qiaopi was never just about money. Inside those envelopes were instructions about family matters, apologies for long absences, hopes for children, worries about aging parents and promises to eventually return home.

For many families, those fragile pieces of paper carried both emotional survival and economic survival at once.

That historical memory gives Dear You an emotional depth that extends beyond romance or nostalgia. The film not only becomes a personal story, but also a reflection of migration, displacement and the enduring Chinese idea of family connection across oceans and generations.

A small film that proves stories matter

Without large-scale visual spectacle and star-studded cast, Dear You succeeded in the opposite direction: regional dialects, ordinary faces, restrained performances and deeply specific cultural memories. Its success suggests that audiences are increasingly hungry for sincerity.

The film's exploration of Chaoshan culture, migration history and traditional family values has also struck a chord with younger viewers searching for cultural roots in an age dominated by fast-paced digital communication. In a world of instant messaging and short videos, the slow emotional rhythm of handwritten letters suddenly feels powerful again.

That may ultimately explain why Dear You has connected so strongly with audiences: beneath its local story lies something universal – the fear of losing connection, the pain of unspoken love, and the hope that some emotions can still survive the passage of time.

Min Rui is a commentator on cultural affairs. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.