Time Out's Film Screenings: To Live
Sunday September 11, 4.15pm, Glam, Free
Every month, Time Out Shanghai shows one of the greatest Chinese films of all time for free at Glam, M on the Bund, with free popcorn and specially tailored drinks. This month, we're showing number 8 on our list: Zhang Yimou's To Live.
Dir Zhang Yimou, 1994; Drama/War
A straight synopsis may make Zhang Yimou’s film, based on Yu Hua’s novel of the same name, sound similar to The Blue Kite or even, perhaps, Farewell My Concubine. Certainly it shares with these films both a mix of the personal and the political, and a panoramic view of Chinese life.
In the mid-’40s Xu Fugui (Ge You) is relatively well off until his gambling results in the loss of the family house, and he is temporarily abandoned by his pregnant wife Jiazhen (Gong Li) and their deaf-mute daughter Fengxia. Poverty, however, brings him to his senses and, when working as a travelling shadow-puppeteer, he finds himself embroiled in the Civil War.
But as Mao’s regime tightens its grip with ever sterner strictures, it becomes harder and harder merely to survive. Zhang’s purpose is less to show the oppressive iniquities of Mao’s era than to evoke the optimistic spirit that allowed people to survive it. Accordingly, the film is lighter in tone, less provocative, complex and tough than its counterparts, even lifting scenes of misfortune with surprising incursions of black comedy.
To reserve your spot, send the word 'film' to our official WeChat account.
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