Emerging auteur Zhang Meng's newest work is the latest in a series of acclaimed Chinese films concerned with the human cost of the country's rapid economic development, but it tempers this sub-genre's pathos with a refreshing comic whimsy. A musical entertainer employed at a deteriorating steel plant, Chen is embroiled in a custody battle with his estranged wife. Anxious to acquire a piano to secure the affections of his musically inclined daughter, he embarks on a series of failed schemes before enlisting his long-suffering girlfriend and some ragtag locals to help build one from scratch. The film's warm cinematography and Zhang's inspired direction, which capture the beauty within even the most banal rural settings, contribute to the film's generous buoyancy, as does a soundtrack of spirited Chinese, Russian, and Western numbers sung by the cast. These aesthetic elements augment The Piano in a Factory's optimism, forging an offbeat cinematic experience in which camaraderie and parental love endure China's changing times.