In a small northern Chinese city in 1997, Judge Tian privately struggles with the loss of his daughter, killed by a stolen car in a hit-and-run accident. On the bench he encounters Qiuwu, a mechanic accused of stealing two cars. Perhaps influenced by his emotional state, the outwardly impassive judge imposes an almost-obsolete criminal law on Qiuwu that sentences him to death for his crime. Desperate to mitigate his sentence, Qiuwu agrees to donate his kidney to a rich businessman dying of a terminal illness, hoping at the very least that his impoverished family may profit from his demise.
Dwelling Narrowness (Chinese: 蜗居; pinyin: Wōjū), also known literally as Snail House, was a 2009 television series broadcast in Mainland China, based on a 2007 novel of the same name. It depicts two sisters struggling with life in Jiangzhou, a fictional city that strongly resembles present-day Shanghai. The Chinese name is a figure of speech meaning "humble abode".
