Message from jharrington

[Anonymous]

Film: To Live
By: Zhang Yimou
Starring:
Ge You - Fugui (husband)
Gong Li - Jiazhen (wife)

"To Live" is a heart wrenching film that deeply touches the core of all your emotions.
The film has a remarkable resemblance to the writings of Leo Tolstoy in that it makes the viewer feel as though they are entrenched in the characters daily lives. Zhang Yimou has the ability to reveal the sensitivity and honesty that each character portrays.

The film centers around life through the eyes of a Chinese family from the 1940's to the 1960's. Early on in the film, the husband, Fugui loses the family home to pay off his gambling debt. In disgust, his pregnant wife Jiazhen wants nothing more to do with him and she takes her daughter and leaves him.

Fugui makes a living by entertaining people with a set of shadow puppets that he acquired from the man who won his home. He becomes a prisoner of the Nationalist army and in order to survive he entertains the troops with his puppets. After a night of drinking he awakens to find the army has retreated and not far away the Red army is advancing. Fugui tries to surrender but the soldiers in the army walk past him. He adapts ever so nicely by joining them, and as time goes by, he eventually returns home to his wife, daughter and son.

Upon returning home, Fugui discovers that his daughter is deaf due to an infection caused a high fever. Despite the fact that times are hard the family survives under the new communist regime. Pictures of Mao Tse Tung appear in courtyards and are hanging in all of the homes. However, just when things seem to be looking up tragedy strikes. Fugui's youngest son is killed when a truck runs over him. The family is heart broken but they somehow find strength in each other to endure the hardship.

As life continues, an array of happiness surrounds the family when the daughter marries a factory supervisor for the Red Guard. The family rejoices when the daughter becomes pregnant. Once again, just when life takes a turn for the better, tragedy strikes. The country is in a state of turmoil when workers are arrested and accused of being capitalists. The Red Guards have arrested most of the doctors and young medical students are staffing hospitals. The daughter gives birth to a baby boy but complications arise and the medical students are not equipped to handle the situation. Consequently, the daughter loses her life.

The film depicts hard times following the Cultural Revolution but Jiazhen's character portrays an inner strength that enables the family to go on. Zhang has an incredible ability to see life in China from the 1940's to the 1960's through the eyes of ordinary people.

Janice Harrington

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[Edit by="jharrington on Aug 17, 12:49:43 AM"][/Edit]