“So Long, My Son” won Silver Bears for best actor and best actress shortly after two other Chinese movies withdrew from the German film festival
By Cai Xuejiao
On Saturday, the Chinese film “So Long, My Son” won two Silver Bear awards in acting categories at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival, or Berlinale. The announcement comes after weeks of rumors and reports of a Communist Party-sanctioned crackdown on two other movies participating in the annual festival.
At Saturday’s ceremony, stars Wang Jingchun and Yong Mei took home the best actor and best actress awards, respectively, for their performances in the three-hour movie, the first to win both awards since the 2015 U.K. movie “45 years.”
Beginning in the 1980s, “So Long, My Son” tells the story of a couple left childless after their only son drowns: They are prohibited from giving birth again due to the country’s stringent one-child policy. The plot touches on various social and political issues in China during the past few decades, such as criminal justice, worker layoffs, and migration.
Despite the largely political nature of the story, quotes from cast and crew over the weekend centered mainly on the human aspects of the film. “It’s a story about parents losing their son,” Yong said during her acceptance speech at Saturday’s ceremony. Wang Xiaoshuai, the film’s director, said in a press conference during the festival that the story is intended to show that “although these people faced several setbacks in their life, they still ... treat others well.”
In reviews of the film, domestic media outlets similarly eschewed political commentary in favor of character analysis. On a news portal owned by Chinese tech giant Sina, film reporter He Xiaoqin wrote that the movie “reflects ordinary Chinese people’s perseverance and strength when faced with a tragic fate.”
But despite such uncontroversial statements from industry insiders, this year’s festival was fraught for films connected to China, with many netizens posting on social media — often using a hashtag about one film’s removal from the awards — that they believed some films’ participation had been limited for political reasons.
Soon after festival organizers announced the inclusion of a handful of Chinese films on Jan. 11 and Jan. 17, two withdrew. On Feb. 2, a statement on the Weibo microblog account for the movie “Better Days” said that festival screenings had been canceled for “post-production reasons.” Then on Feb. 11, a social media account for acclaimed director Zhang Yimou’s “One Second” said that the film would also be pulled from the awards due to “technical reasons.”
For at least one of the films, the rumors of political suppression have been confirmed by international media. Shortly after showings of “Better Days” were canceled, American film industry outlet Variety reported that the movie had not obtained the necessary screening permit from the Chinese government.
Editor: Layne Flower.
(Header image: Actors Yong Mei, left, and Wang Jingchun pose for photos at a press conference during the 69th Berlin International Film Festival in Berlin, Feb. 16, 2019. Thomas Niedermueller/Getty Images/VCG)
You may also want to read:
What ‘The Wandering Earth’ Says About Chinese Sci-Fi
Want to get Sixth Tone stories delivered to your email?
Subscribe to our newsletter for a weekly roundup of the latest news and trending topics from China.
Sign up here:
http://ow.ly/zgv530cPeV4
(Copy and paste the URL into your browser)