S R
1001 movies to see before you die. Banned in China. A sad tale about the Cultural Revolution and it points out its shortcomings and where the Chinese suffered from a typical family's perspective. Overall the film was not quite up to snuff as far as films go, but it still does well in telling its story. In particular, I was impressed by the scenes of anxiety over whether someone was good enough for Party membership, then to have it taken away and your life ruined because of hearsay was heart wrenching. It is a good reminder of where communism fell short and the freedoms lost. It was on youtube.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
05/13/23
Full Review
steve c
But I thought Communism was supposed to eliminate poverty. Looks like the only people prospering are all the fat cats at the top. So what makes it any different from capitalism? Damn it all to hell.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
william d
By all accounts the Chinese Communist Party's policies in the 50s and 60s were much worse than depicted here. The film should have gone further. However, the fact that this movie was made at all is somewhat amazing, and it does give the viewer some idea of what happened.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
William L
A well-designed depiction of the changes in midcentury China told through the experiences of a single family, Tian Zhuangzhuang's The Blue Kite is not particularly inventive, despondent, or overpowering, but it was (and remains) plenty subversive in the director's native country. Depicting the personal struggles of a family suffering as a result of the poorly conceived initiatives of the Chairman Mao era, the government even in the '90s saw this retrospective as a threat to the national consciousness; recognizing poor leadership and the negative effects of a cult of personality was still not an accepted practice, and today you would still be hard-pressed to find a filmmaker that would make a bleak nonfiction account of China's turbulent history without a government representative making sure that the themes weren't too threatening. Instead, it's been easier to market Jet Li (et al.) beating up a revolving door of foreign invaders during the 'Century of Humiliation' than to accept that domestic shortcomings existed.
Good set design, great costuming, and solid performances bring The Blue Kite up from just a geopolitically relevant drama. While most of the characters are what you might expect from protagonists - unassuming and well-intentioned, and thus easy to root for - the film does a good job making them seem empathetic and appropriately tragic. The scenes of childhood in the region and era would get a much more subtle treatment among some of Tian's Taiwanese contemporaries, but The Blue Kite largely accomplishes what it sets out to do. More revealing than the film itself, is how strong the domestic backlash to it has been. (3.5/5)
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
10/24/21
Full Review
Audience Member
Banned on release, and placing the director in hot water for a decade, The Blue Kite is still one of the most impactful films ever to come out of China; not necessarily for its overall quality, but more for its commentary and social themes. It's set at a pivotal time in Chinese history, with political upheaval both dividing and unifying the county. Its story is told through human drama and a fair amount of symbolism, especially the titular kite, which, much like Charles Kane's sled Rosebud, is a symbol of happier, more innocent times. As good as the adult acting is, I thought the child actors were even better. It's rare that kids in movies give truly compelling, realistic performances. When our lead is a toddler, he stumbles over his lines and frequently hesitates. It seems like a minor thing, but its exactly what you'd expect from a very young individual, and I loved touches like that. At 2 hours and 20 minutes the film feels longer than necessary, and some sections could have been trimmed. Not a film you'd watch regularly, but still a very illuminating window into a country being torn apart, and how the bonds of family are about the only things that can hold it together.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/26/23
Full Review
Audience Member
A quiet film that contemplates how history impacts personal lives, charting a mother and son as they experience China under Mao between 1950 and 1968. The film is broken into three parts (Dad, Uncle, and Stepfather), representing the three husbands of the central character, Shujuan (played by Liping Lü), and the three great upheavals in Mao's era, Rectification & the Hundred Flowers Movement, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution. Director Zhuangzhuang Tian had to smuggle this film out of China in order to complete the editing and postproduction in Japan and the movie was subsequently banned in China. Indeed, it takes a very critical stance toward the events of this period, which see the optimistic Shujuan and her husband embracing the new Communist Party of China only to discover later that whispers about "counter-revolutionaries" could be used to send people to forced labour camps. The Hundred Flowers Movement may have encouraged critiques of the government but these were later used against those brave enough to speak out. The family is subsequently impacted by Mao's decision to move the entire country to new collective agricultural techniques during the Great Leap Forward which lead to widespread and devastating famine. Many died of malnutrition. Finally, when Shujuan makes the decision to marry a Party elder in order to provide a better life for her rascally son, Tietou (or "Iron Head"), the Cultural Revolution emboldens the young students who make up the Red Guards to attack those seen to be bourgeois or elite. So, in some ways, the film is a tragedy, but it also speaks to the power of family and community bonds, as the mother and son, and their friends and relatives who share a courtyard in Beijing, weather the chaos of these events (which are not didactically explained - I used Wikipedia later to better understand them). As dramatic as these upheavals seem, it is hard not to wonder about the coming decades or century, when even more intense dramas may be in store for our children (as a result of global warming, over-population, and their consequences). Indeed, there are places in the world where upheavals affect personal lives now (Syria or Burma, for example; it is easy to generate a depressing list). The Blue Kite reminds us not to ignore those who suffer from political decisions (as there but for good luck and good fortune go we).
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
Full Review
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