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Mama is a movie that was made in China in 1989 and released in 1990. The movie is about a mother struggling to take care of her grown up son who is autistic. She works as a librarian and her husband who is also the boy's father is not supportive. He is almost always absent and when he shows up he has nothing good to offer. The mother is strong but deeply stressed. In many instances she at the end of her tether and is almost giving up. She displays remarkable spirit and is somehow able to pull through over the years.

Mama 1990 is informative although it has a relatively dark plot. It incorporates interviews with actual parents and guardians of autistic children. The movie takes a documentary style approach in bridging fiction and reality. The factual interviews and the drama are blended seamlessly together to give the viewer a clear impression of how it is like to raise and take care of a special child. The movie also brings out the dilemma often experienced when an autistic child grows up and approaches adulthood.

Mama 1990 differs from other movies produced around the same time because it is in black and white. This gives it a classical look and forces the audience to focus on the people depicted in the movie. It is set in a downtown Chinese apartment block and shows an accurately realistic picture of how life is for that class of people. It differs from high cost movies which often end up depicting a non-existent class of people. The movie was made on a very small budget.

Mama 1990 was written, directed, and produced by Zhang Yuan and it was his first film to make. Additional writers were Qin Yan,who was the lead actor, and Ning Dai, who was Zhang's wife. It had began as a screen play.