For many outside China, Dear You reflects family history, not politics

When a modest Chaoshan-dialect film about an indebted grandson, a missing grandfather and a bundle of yellowing remittance letters opened quietly in China in late April, few expected it to become one of the biggest films of the year. Yet Dear You has earned more than 1.8 billion yuan (US$265.75 million) at the Chinese box office.

It has done so without major stars or heavy promotion – an unlikely triumph for a film told largely in Teochew or Chiu Chow. As the film is released across Southeast...