Spanning two decades of Chinese history—from the repressed seventies to the money-crazed present—The Making of Steel follows a young man’s journey from boiler stoker to frustrated rocker in Beijing. In the end, the misfit hero develops a sort of nostalgia for the revolution, stoked by the memory of a social-realist book from his childhood entitled The Making of Steel. Veteran Fifth Generation director Tian Zhuangzhuang, who nourished the current generation of young filmmakers, plays the father figure to the young man in the film. Heavily critiqued by the Chinese censors for its treatment of such touchy subjects as alcohol, drug addiction, and casual sex, the film underwent six edits before satisfying the authorities.