Springtime in a Small Town marks the return of Tian Zhuangzhuang to the director's chair, following a nearly nine-year absence since his last film, The Blue Kite (1993).

Unlike Kite, which deployed a large cast, spanned decades, and carried a political message, Springtime is a small intimate chamber-piece.

Zhang Zhichen (Xin Baiqing), a city doctor, comes to visit his old friend from school Dai Liyan (Wu Jun) shortly after the war against the Japanese has ended.

Unlike Tian's ensemble direction in The Blue Kite, the cast here is deliberately limited to only five actors, all of whom were unknowns at the time of Springtime's release.

"[1] J. Hoberman of The Village Voice describes the film as "exquisitely crafted" and "a movie of indefinable moods and subtle emotional coloration."

"[5] Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader writes "This erotically charged drama may not be quite as great as the original, but it's an amazing and beautiful work just the same.