pˈʌblɪk sˈiːkɹᵻts, pˈʌblɪk spˈeɪsᵻz: sˈɪnəmə ænd sɪvˈɪlᵻɾi ɪn tʃˈaɪnə, ɹˈoʊt ðætðə nˈæɹətˌɪvz spˈeɪs ɪn ˈɜːmoʊ hɐz ˈeɪ "sˈɛns ʌv dˌɛspɚɹˈeɪʃən ænd ɪnˌɛvᵻɾəbˈɪlᵻɾi" bɪkˈʌz ðə fˈɪlmz nˈæɹətˌɪv wʌz "fˈɪlmd ɪn ɐ sˈɪɹiz ʌv klˌɔːstɹəfˈoʊbɪk plˈeɪsᵻz".
Public Secrets, Public Spaces: Cinema and Civility in China, wrote that the narrative's space in Ermo has a "sense of desperation and inevitability" because the film's narrative was "filmed in a series of claustrophobic places".