China, Cinema: ‘Shaolin’ and ‘Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress’

So, did I see a Chinese film? I'm not quite sure. I suppose ‘country of origin’ all depends on your definition. It may be true of any film these days. Films are expensive to make and a producer seeks the widest possible audience. International collaboration blurs borders and smooths access to the global market. It also dilutes the national origin of a lot of movies I considered for this project, not just for China  but for any country with a smallish media market. You must doubt whether what you've seen presents an authentic national vision.

With China it may be particularly true. There are Chinese language film centers in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore and then, of course, in China itself. A filmmaker can blend markets and talents producing something whose origin is far from clear. I had lots of choices but little idea what to choose.

I ended up with a romantic biography ‘Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress’ and a kung fu movie, ‘Shaolin’.

‘Shaolin’ was an easy choice. After a month in China we had seen lots and lots of kung fu movies - even if we could not understand them. Many of the hotels we stayed at only had one channel of English language TV - CCTV. Lots of state media news coverage on that channel. After a while you have had enough and even a Chinese language movie is better. We watched quite a few and picked up on some themes. Oppressers (warlords, Japanese, European imperialists) exploit hard-pressed Chinese common folk who eventually rise up, lead by an unassuming guy who just gets fed up and unleashes his kick-ass martial arts moves. China wins.

I chose ‘Shaolin’ because I wanted to see one I could understand. Turns out even without the subtitles I was not missing much. ‘Shaolin’ was pretty much true to form. Competing warlords battle until one loses all that matters (his family) and turns to the Shaolin monks for solace and refuge. His rival teams with the imperialists to enslave the peasants in the service of western greed. Finally, our hero reaches the limit, organizes the monks and villagers and strikes back.

I was reminded of the cowboy westerns of my youth. The same movie made over and over reinforcing themes that strike a chord with people’s self image. The good guys win. In the end everything will turn out right.

‘Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress’ was completely different. Netflix had it listed as a romantic comedy and though it was a romance, I must have missed the comedy. As an example of Chinese romantic comedy, I'm only sure of one of those three.

It was the work of an author-director born and raised in China. Like Jung Chang (see Wild Swans post) he lived the Cultural Revolution, then won a scholarship abroad (France) and never went home. The film is the largely autobiographical account of his time of ‘reeducation’ in the countryside. As such, it is an interesting portrait of those times and the people of that place. For many Chinese I met, that era is the central event of their lives. The upheaval, experienced directly, or by immediate members of their family, changed everything. Like the protagonist in ‘Balzac’ they struggle to make sense of it. Despite the hardship, it is what got them to where they are today. It does not seem like they perceive it as all bad.

The long view seems to be a very common perspective. ‘Balzac’ captures it. China seems to be living it.