CHINA FILM SERIES

Tuesday, October 16
Life on a String (Bian Zou Bian Chang)
Directed by Chen Kaige, 1991 (110 minutes)

From celebrated director Chen Kaige (whose Farewell My Concubine won both the Palme d'Or and the International Critics' Award at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival), comes a film of mesmerizing visual beauty that combines grand-scale spectacle with the intimate philosophical pursuits of the individual.

Set against the awesome backdrop of the barren mountains and plains of Inner Mongolia, Life on a String unfurls a profound tale of a master and pupil, old and young, both completely blind, who wander the sun-scorched earth in an aimless quest for enlightenment. They express themselves through heartfelt song and the fragile banjos they carry, living for the fulfillment of the prophecy that when the thousandth string breaks, the player will be rewarded with the sight and wisdom they pursue.

Chen Kaige made Life on a String with the hope of a better future, not only for the Chinese, but for the world. The director's high aspirations are borne out in this sensitive parable that examines the difficult quest for enlightenment in a land torn by political unrest.

Thursday, October 25 (Documentary)
The Other Bank
Directed by Jiang Yue, 1994 (140 minutes) **

In the early spring of 1993, independent artist Mou Sen was invited by the Actors Exchange and Training Center of the Beijing Film Academy to take charge of a short-term performance workshop. More than 30 high school graduates from all over the country participated in the intensive training. Fourteen students, who stayed until the end of the training, performed The Other Bank - a Chinese Grammatical Discussion, a play written by Gao Xingjian (2000 Nobel Prize Winner for Literature) and Yu Jian and directed by Mou Sen.

The seven performances by the group of 14 students shocked Beijing's artistic and intellectual circles. These young actors, in the middle of this shock, were greeted with applause, flowers, and tears. When the show was over, the 14 performers chose to stay in Beijing, but the reality they encountered was quite cruel. Their dreams, which had been cultivated in the classroom, were broken. In the end, all 14 of the young actors left Beijing. One student brought two of his actor friends back to his remote village in Hebei Province, where he staged a theater piece they wrote together called, " The Black Bird that had Flown Over the Paradise."

This documentary records the training process for these ground breaking performances in contemporary Chinese theater and reflects the major conflict between the ideals and the reality facing China's youth.

Tuesday, October 30
The Puppetmaster (Ximeng Rensheng)
Directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsian, 1993 (142 minutes)

1993 Golden Horse Awards for Sound, Best Costume Design, and Best Cinematography
1993 Grand Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival
1993 Best Score, Ghent/Flanders International Film Festival

Based on the actual memoirs of Li Tien-lu, Taiwan's most celebrated puppeteer, The Puppetmaster tells the epic tale of one man's struggle against seemingly insurmountable adversary. Spanning the years from Li's birth in 1909 to the end of Japan's fifty-year occupation of Taiwan in 1945, this remarkable true story captures the puppetmaster's hardships as well as the tragic sweep of this war-torn era. The portrait that emerges reflects the complex nature of Chinese culture under Japanese rule during the first half of the 20th century.

Thursday, November 8 (Documentaries)
ROOT - Talk Between Tan Dun and His Hometown
Directed by Sheng Bo-ji, 2000 (29 minutes) **

Tracing the route of Tan Dun (composer and 2001 Academy Award winner for the score of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) during a visit to his hometown in Hunan Province in Mainland China, this documentary depicts the artist's cultural, spiritual, and musical encounters with the local Miao, Tujia, and Dong minorities. Images of traditional culture and the beautiful majesty of the natural surroundings are accompanied by Tan Dun's compositions and musical inspirations which reflect a fusion of Chinese and Western cultures.

AND

Jiang Hu: Life on the Road
Directed by Wu Wenguang, 1999 (60 minutes) **

If translated directly from Chinese to English, "jiang hu" means "river and lake," but the phrase also has a second meaning: "the world away from home." This documentary presents the harsh realities of a group of traveling performers in contemporary Chinese society. The group, founded by a man referred to as Old Liu, consists of farmers striving to improve their existence and find their fortunes on the road by performing a variety show of popular music, dance, and comedy sketches. The film portrays the group's gritty existence living and performing in a big tent with the hopes of performing in larger cities such as Beijing. The rawness of the piece captures the troupe's struggles and provides an intriguing look at life in modern day China.

Tuesday, November 13
Farewell My Concubine (Ba Wang Bie Ji)
Directed by Chen Kaige, 1993 (157 minutes)

1993 Palme d'Or, Cannes Film Festival
1993 Best Foreign Film, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
1994 Best Foreign Language Film, Golden Globe Awards
1993 Best Supporting Actress and Best Foreign Language Film, New York Film Critics Circle Awards
1993 Best Foreign Language Film, National Board of Review

Farewell My Concubine is the compelling story of two Peking Opera actors and a woman prostitute unexpectedly caught in a passionate love triangle. Tracing over fifty years of their life-long friendship, the movie is set against the sweeping historical backdrop of 20th century China, depicting the two men's greatest triumphs and failures while China herself alternates between rejecting and embracing them. It is a story about two men: one who worked as a Peking Opera actor, the other who lived the opera.

Thursday, November 29 (Documentaries)
Art in the Cultural Revolution: The Establishment of a New Image
Directed by Kubert Leung, 1996 (33 minutes) **

1997 Silver Apple Award, USA

The Cultural Revolution, which spanned from 1966 to 1976, was a period of ultra-leftist fervor in the People's Republic of China. In their pursuit of ideological purity, Mao Zedong's Red Guards conducted a vigorous and violent campaign to purge the country of any element that might be associated with the old Chinese "feudal" past or the capitalist and imperialist west. The arts, which were often considered political instruments for thought education of the masses, came under stringent control of the Communist Party. Artists worked under the aesthetic dominance from the Party to produce the perfect revolutionary vision. The Establishment of a New Image discloses the supremacy of Jiang Qing's rigorous rules behind every piece of art during the Cultural Revolution. Through a close study of many important paintings during that time - from their content to their form, color scheme to treatment of light and shadow, and character posing and facial expressions to the clothing worn, this documentary reveals how Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, accentuated a new image of Mao's illusory new world.

AND

Swing in Beijing
Directed by Shui-Bo Wang, 2000 (73 minutes)

A comprehensive survey of creative life in contemporary Beijing, Swing in Beijing captures a remarkable impression of the current state of fine and performing arts in this rapidly changing city. Academy Award nominee Shui-Bo Wang has incorporated interviews with artists, filmmakers, and musicians, along with clips of films, plays, music videos, paintings, artwork in galleries and studios, and revealing footage of a city in transition. Shui-Bo Wang, whose critically acclaimed film Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square was nominated for an Academy Award, has returned to the cradle of artistic development, creating an informative and surprising film about the challenges and rewards of the life of an artist in present-day Beijing.

** These documentaries are part of the REEL CHINA - New Documentary Video Festival presented by R.E.C. Foundation Inc., a non-profit organization founded by Mr. Zhang Pingjie in 1997 and based in New York City and Shanghai. Understanding that China is undergoing massive cultural transitions, R.E.C. Foundation believes that these new documentary films show the problems and reality that China is facing. R.E.C. Foundation Inc. has selected 16 new Chinese documentaries from up-and-coming directors that present a wide range of topics such as art reform to family planning and minority issues to the legal system. During the fall of 2001, the REEL CHINA series will be shown in various venues in New York City and at major universities across the United States.

For more information about REEL CHINA, please contact R.E.C. Foundation Inc. at 28 West 36th Street, Suite 702, New York, New York 10018, by email at recfd_cj@yahoo.com or by phone at 212-947-3188.

For more information about the Council on East Asian Studies' China Film Series, please contact 203-432-3426.