In the Heat of the Sun accepted to Beijing Film Academy) and became successful actors. The Chinese version of the Soviet song "Moscow Nights" features prominently in the film, as does Pietro Mascagni's music for his opera "Cavalleria Rusticana". The film was commercially successful in China. In contrast to the Cultural Revolution-set films of Chinese 5th-generation filmmakers (Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Tian Zhuangzhuang) which put the era into a larger historical setting, "In The Heat Of the Sun" is mellow and dream-like, portraying memories of that era with somewhat positive and personal resonances. It also acknowledges, as the narrator recalls, that he might have misremembered parts
Amica (opera) from "Cavalleria rusticana", the work then fell into obscurity. One of its few revivals in modern times was on 4 August 2007 at the Festival della Valle d'Itria, using the original French libretto. (It has been released on CD and DVD. See below.). In October 2008, Opera di Roma used the Italian libretto for a new production of "Amica" in collaboration with Opéra de Monte-Carlo and the Teatro Carlo Goldoni in Livorno. Set in the mountains of Savoy around 1900, "Amica" is a classic verismo drama. It recounts a domestic tragedy involving two brothers (Giorgio and Renaldo) and the woman