A lowly government official puts his life on the line to attempt the impossible task of transporting fresh fruit across China in the comedy drama The Lychee Road, set in the Tang dynasty and featuring a sprawling cast of raucous supporting players.

The film is directed and written by Da Peng, who also stars as Li Shande, the man cajoled into delivering fresh Lingnan lychees to the capital Chang’an in time for the imperial consort’s birthday.

From its opening moments, audiences are aware that nobody wants Inspector Li to succeed in his fruitless endeavour, least of all the scheming Eunuch Yu (Chang Yuan), to whom the emperor made his impossible request.

Read my full South China Morning Post review here