"Sunflower" is a powerful and touching look at the compelling inner dynamics of one post-Cultural Revolution family in Beijing and their struggle over 30 years to adjust to each other as the fabric, politics, and social mores of Chinese society change ever so rapidly. It spans the course of three decades--focusing on the years 1976, 1987 and 1999--in the lives of Zhang Gengnian and his son, Xiangyang.