THE BLUE KITE
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
Rating (0 to 10): 7.8
Date Released: varies Running Length: 2:18 Rated: No MPAA Rating (Violence)
Starring: Chen Xiaoman, Zhang Wenyao, Yi Tian, Lu Liping,
Pu Quanxin, Li Xeujian, Guo Baochang
Director: Tian Zhuangzhuang
Producers: Fortissimo Film Sales, Longwick Film Production,
and Beijing Film Studio
Screenplay: Xiao Mao
Cinematography: Hou Yong
Music: Yoshihide Otomo
Released by Kino International
In Chinese with subtitles
"I finished shooting THE BLUE KITE in 1992. But while I was involved in post-production, several official organizations involved with China's film industry screened the film. They decided that it had a problem concerning its political 'leanings,' and prevented its completion. The fact that it can appear today seems like a miracle... The stories in the film are real, and they are related with total sincerity. What worries me is that it is precisely a fear of reality and sincerity that has led to the ban on such stories being told." - Tian Zhuangzhuang, director of THE BLUE KITE
THE BLUE KITE recounts how a child and his mother survive through the turbulence of China during the 1950s and 60s, when political beliefs that were proper one year might be deemed counterrevolutionary the next. It is a troubling climate, where nothing is certain, and the greatest difficulty of growing up lies in determining what is proper behavior and what is likely to get you taken away for "reform."
The narrator of THE BLUE KITE is Tietou (played by Yi Tian as an infant, Zhang Wenyao as a young boy, and Chen Xiaoman as an adolescent), whose birth in 1953 occurs early in the film. His parents, librarian Shalong (Pu Quanxin) and teacher Shujuan (Lu Liping) are supporters of the Maoist revolution, but that doesn't stop Shalong from being accused of counterrevolutionary activities and sent off a labor camp, where a tree falls on him and kills him. It is Shujuan and Tietou's struggles through this and subsequent trials that form the background of Tian Zhuangzhuang's motion picture.
Tian's criticism of the Chinese revolution is effective because of its subtlety. As was true in Chen Kaige's FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE, the characters' stories are used to present the injustices of the system. If anything, the methods employed in this film are less direct than those in CONCUBINE, but no less disturbing.
Tietou's courage, Shujuan's spirit, and the love between mother and child are the immutable elements of THE BLUE KITE. No matter what year it is or how dire the circumstances faced by the characters (and, at several points, circumstances become dire indeed), these three things are constant.
The acting by the principles, especially that of Chen Xiaoman and Lu Liping, is superb. Lu's unaffected presentation of the spectrum of human emotions creates a very real Shujuan.
Tian's method of storytelling, while reasonably straightforward, will be unfamiliar to many American movie-goers. Careful attention to the story is demanded, especially for those unfamiliar with the background. Because numerous scenes end abruptly and are often followed by sudden time changes, it's easy to lose track of what's going on in THE BLUE KITE.
Many of the movies coming from so-called "Fifth Generation" Chinese filmmakers (such as Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou) are either banned in their native country, or heavily censored. The government has shown an unwillingness to allow any criticism of their policies, either past or present. However, one proverbial "silver lining" in this cloud of controversy has been the greater worldwide recognition and distribution of productions such as THE BLUE KITE. We in the West should feel fortunate to be exposed to such well-crafted, provocative motion pictures.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
.
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews