Message from jshen

[Anonymous]

As a Mandarin Teacher, I had watched this movie several times with my students, and in every post movie discussion, besides the different culture background, almost all the students could resonate the main theme of the movie and agreed that this is a very touching movie.
" To Live" is a simple title, but it conceals a universe. In Chinese, "活着“means more close to " To be living". The impression part of this movie is unlike other historical documentary movies, it reveals the historical events in China since 1940s by the end of the last dynasty-Qing, to the 8 years of China-Japan war, then the 10 years of Chinese Civil War, followed later on the 10 years of the Cultural Revolution. The movie shows how these big events affected a regular family, their fierce struggles with fate. their hope is basically summed up by the wife who loses wealth and position and children and who says," all I ask is a quiet life together."
Most of my students resonate that life is hard, yet it has to be going on, we are still struggling " To Live".