[Once Upon a Time Proletarian] shows the present state of China through twelve platforms ? an old farmer, a middle aged waitress, a car washer, a weapons dealer, fish store owners, a barber, a factory owner, a park ranger, a shopping mall employee, etc. These various faces of the so-called proletarian class ask, what is a dream? Answers to this question exist in the interview with each character, but is conveyed much more clearly through the black and white image of the children putting up their future as security as shots are heard continually behind them. The film is a series of short stories, but the focus is on the characters rather than the events themselves. Except for the businesswoman, the camera closes up on most of them to capture the condensed expression and gaze of the proletarian life. This expression has power beyond the indifference, fury or a steady gaze. Perhaps this is the expression and the power that will lead China in the future.