To Live
Encyclopedia
To Live is a Chinese film
directed by Zhang Yimou
in 1994, starring Ge You
, Gong Li
, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio
and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name
by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films (Ju Dou
and Raise the Red Lantern
), director Zhang Yimou's To Live came with high expectations. It is the first Chinese film that had its foreign distribution rights pre-sold.
The film was banned in mainland China
by the Chinese State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television
due to its critical portrayal of various policies and campaigns of the Communist government. Zhang Yimou was also banned from filmmaking for two years.
To Live was screened at the 1994 New York Film Festival
before eventually receiving a limited release in the United States on November 18, 1994.
originally intended to adapt "Mistake at River's Edge," a thriller written by Yu Hua. Yu gave Zhang a set of all of the works that had been published at that point so Zhang could understand his works. Zhang said that he began reading To Live
, one of the works, and was unable to stop reading it. Zhang met Yu to discuss the script for "Mistake at River's Edge," but they kept bringing up To Live. The two decided to have To Live adapted instead.
.
The story begins some time in the 1940s. Xu Fugui (徐福贵 Xú Fúguì, Ge You
) is a local rich man's son and compulsive gambler, who loses his family property to a man named Long'er (S:龙二, T: 龍二, Lóng'èr). His behaviour also causes his long-suffering wife Jiazhen (家珍 Jiāzhēn, Gong Li
) to leave him, along with their daughter, Fengxia (S: 徐凤霞, T: 徐凤霞 Xú Fèngxiá) and their unborn son, Youqing (徐有庆 Xú Yǒuqìng).
After he loses his entire family fortune, Fugui eventually reunites with his wife and children, but is forced to start a shadow puppet
troupe with a partner named Chunsheng (春生 Chūnshēng), using puppets donated by Long'er to support his family. The Chinese Civil War
is occurring at the time, and both Fugui and Chunsheng are conscripted into the Kuomintang
during a performance. Eventually Fugui is able to return home and explain his absence, only to find out that Fengxia has become mute and lost most of her hearing due to a fever.
It is revealed that Long'er did not want to donate any of his wealth to the "people's government", and when they tried to pressure him to do so, they only enraged him further so that he decided to burn all of his property instead of giving it away. No one helped to extinguish the fire due to Long'er's bad reputation, and he was designated a reactionary. Fugui realizes the serendipity of losing their fortune to Long'er, for he could have been executed had he not lost it in their bet.
The story moves forward a decade into the future, to the time of the Great Leap Forward
. The local town chief enlists everyone to donate all scrap iron in their possession, including cookware, to the national drive to produce steel
and make weaponry for retaking Taiwan
. As an entertainer, Fugui performs for the entire town, and so is allowed to keep the small pins that hold his puppets together. The town, which has been devoted entirely to producing steel, also establishes a communal kitchen for everyone to get food from.
Soon after, some boys have begun picking on Fengxia, who cannot fight back or tell anyone since she cannot speak. Youqing, who adores his older sister, decides to get back at one of the boys by dumping a huge bowl of noodles and chili sauce onto his head at the public kitchen. In the fury afterward, one man accuses Youqing, and by default, Fugui, of trying to sabotage the kitchens. Since Youqing will not apologize, Fugui begins to paddle him. Later, when they have returned home, Fugui learns of the reasons of his son's actions, and tries to apologize, only to be rebuffed.
That night, when he is giving another shadow play to the workers, he asks Jiazhen to convince Youqing to come see it, as a way to make it better between them. In the end, Youqing does come, and with a bowl of tea for his father. But only because his mother has given him the idea of putting vinegar and chili sauce in it, as well as helped him, as a way of payback. In the end, Fugui ends up ragingly and eventually playfully chasing his son around the smelting area. The mother's actions also made it look like the child was just a prankster, and make the people no longer think Youqing's actions was sabotage set up by Fugui.
One day a while later, while Fengxia and Youqing are sleeping, several of Youqing's classmates come by to tell him that they have to go to school now, since the District Chief is coming. Still sleepy, Fugui carries him there, despite his wife wishing to let him sleep, since he has not been able to sleep well in weeks. Tragically, the boy falls asleep against a wall, which the District Chief's truck accidentally knocks over, killing Youqing.
At the grave site of the boy, his mother leaves for him a lunchbox of 20 stale dumpling
s, which were intended as his lunch for school that day, plus 20 newly made dumplings. The District Chief visits the family at the grave, only to be revealed as Chunsheng. His attempts to apologize and compensate the family are rejected, with Jiazhen declaring that he owed them a life.
The story moves forward again another decade, to the Cultural Revolution
. The village chief advises Fugui's family to burn their shadow puppet drama props, which have been deemed as counter-revolutionary as they are representative of traditional Chinese culture. Fengxia is now grown up. Her family arranges for her to meet Wan Erxi (S:万二喜, T: 萬二喜, Wàn Èrxǐ), a local leader of the Red Guards
who also has a disability. They fall in love and soon marry, and Fengxia becomes pregnant.
It is revealed that Chunsheng, the district chief, has been branded a reactionary and a capitalist. Throughout the years, Fugui had forgiven Chunsheng, but Jiazhen does not want to see him. He arrives late at night to inform Fugui and Jiazhen that his wife has committed suicide and implies that he plans to do so also as he was unable to cope with both losing his wife and killing Youqing. Chunsheng gives Fugui the bank certificate for all of his money as a form of his final apology and wished that they accept the money before his death. Fugui refuses to take it, and Jiazhen, who up to that point had refused to talk to Chunsheng, reconciles with him and encouragingly tells him to keep living, because "You still owe us a life!"
Months later, during Fengxia's childbirth, her parents and husband accompany her to the county hospital, where they find out that young medical students are in charge. Since all doctors have been sent to do hard labor for being "reactionary academic authorities", the students are left as the only ones in charge, despite being so young. The nurses tell the family that both the child and mother will be fine, but the family is skeptical. Wan Erxi manages to retrieve a doctor from confinement to oversee the birth. As the doctor has not eaten for several days, Fugui purchases seven steamed buns (mantou
) for him. Fugui and Jiazhen decides to name the son Mantou, after the buns, or at least until he is born. Soon, a healthy baby boy is born, and everything seems to have gone perfectly.
However, Fengxia begins to hemorrhage, and the nurses panic, admitting that they do not know what to do. The family and nurses seek the advice of the doctor, but find that he has overeaten and is semiconscious. The family is helpless, and Fengxia dies from hypovolemia
. Her parents decide to keep the baby's name as Mantou, or "little bun".
The movie ends six years later, with the family now consisting of Fugui, Jiazhen, their son-in-law Erxi, and grandson Mantou. The family visits the graves of Youqing and Fengxia, where Jiazhen, as per tradition, leaves dumplings for her son. Erxi buys a box full of young chicks for his son, which they decide to keep in the chest formerly used for the shadow puppet props. When Mantou inquires how long it will take for the chicks to grow up, Fugui's response is a more tempered version of something he said earlier in the film, that the chickens would grow into geese, which would grow into sheep, which would grow into oxen. However, in spite of all of his personal hardships, he expresses optimism for his grandson's future, and the film ends with his statement, "and life will get better and better" (also mentioned earlier) as the whole family sits down to eat.
, said that the novel has a "darker and more existential" message and a "much more brutal" reality and social critique, while film renders Communist ideals to be failed, but offers a capitalist China as having promise. Berry says that the film "allows more room for the hand of fate to hold sway."
To Live is a Chinese film
directed by Zhang Yimou
in 1994, starring Ge You
, Gong Li
, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio
and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name
by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films (Ju Dou
and Raise the Red Lantern
), director Zhang Yimou's To Live came with high expectations. It is the first Chinese film that had its foreign distribution rights pre-sold.
The film was banned in mainland China
by the Chinese State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television
due to its critical portrayal of various policies and campaigns of the Communist government. Zhang Yimou was also banned from filmmaking for two years.
To Live was screened at the 1994 New York Film Festival
before eventually receiving a limited release in the United States on November 18, 1994.
originally intended to adapt "Mistake at River's Edge," a thriller written by Yu Hua. Yu gave Zhang a set of all of the works that had been published at that point so Zhang could understand his works. Zhang said that he began reading To Live
, one of the works, and was unable to stop reading it. Zhang met Yu to discuss the script for "Mistake at River's Edge," but they kept bringing up To Live. The two decided to have To Live adapted instead.
.
The story begins some time in the 1940s. Xu Fugui (徐福贵 Xú Fúguì, Ge You
) is a local rich man's son and compulsive gambler, who loses his family property to a man named Long'er (S:龙二, T: 龍二, Lóng'èr). His behaviour also causes his long-suffering wife Jiazhen (家珍 Jiāzhēn, Gong Li
) to leave him, along with their daughter, Fengxia (S: 徐凤霞, T: 徐凤霞 Xú Fèngxiá) and their unborn son, Youqing (徐有庆 Xú Yǒuqìng).
After he loses his entire family fortune, Fugui eventually reunites with his wife and children, but is forced to start a shadow puppet
troupe with a partner named Chunsheng (春生 Chūnshēng), using puppets donated by Long'er to support his family. The Chinese Civil War
is occurring at the time, and both Fugui and Chunsheng are conscripted into the Kuomintang
during a performance. Eventually Fugui is able to return home and explain his absence, only to find out that Fengxia has become mute and lost most of her hearing due to a fever.
It is revealed that Long'er did not want to donate any of his wealth to the "people's government", and when they tried to pressure him to do so, they only enraged him further so that he decided to burn all of his property instead of giving it away. No one helped to extinguish the fire due to Long'er's bad reputation, and he was designated a reactionary. Fugui realizes the serendipity of losing their fortune to Long'er, for he could have been executed had he not lost it in their bet.
The story moves forward a decade into the future, to the time of the Great Leap Forward
. The local town chief enlists everyone to donate all scrap iron in their possession, including cookware, to the national drive to produce steel
and make weaponry for retaking Taiwan
. As an entertainer, Fugui performs for the entire town, and so is allowed to keep the small pins that hold his puppets together. The town, which has been devoted entirely to producing steel, also establishes a communal kitchen for everyone to get food from.
Soon after, some boys have begun picking on Fengxia, who cannot fight back or tell anyone since she cannot speak. Youqing, who adores his older sister, decides to get back at one of the boys by dumping a huge bowl of noodles and chili sauce onto his head at the public kitchen. In the fury afterward, one man accuses Youqing, and by default, Fugui, of trying to sabotage the kitchens. Since Youqing will not apologize, Fugui begins to paddle him. Later, when they have returned home, Fugui learns of the reasons of his son's actions, and tries to apologize, only to be rebuffed.
That night, when he is giving another shadow play to the workers, he asks Jiazhen to convince Youqing to come see it, as a way to make it better between them. In the end, Youqing does come, and with a bowl of tea for his father. But only because his mother has given him the idea of putting vinegar and chili sauce in it, as well as helped him, as a way of payback. In the end, Fugui ends up ragingly and eventually playfully chasing his son around the smelting area. The mother's actions also made it look like the child was just a prankster, and make the people no longer think Youqing's actions was sabotage set up by Fugui.
One day a while later, while Fengxia and Youqing are sleeping, several of Youqing's classmates come by to tell him that they have to go to school now, since the District Chief is coming. Still sleepy, Fugui carries him there, despite his wife wishing to let him sleep, since he has not been able to sleep well in weeks. Tragically, the boy falls asleep against a wall, which the District Chief's truck accidentally knocks over, killing Youqing.
At the grave site of the boy, his mother leaves for him a lunchbox of 20 stale dumpling
s, which were intended as his lunch for school that day, plus 20 newly made dumplings. The District Chief visits the family at the grave, only to be revealed as Chunsheng. His attempts to apologize and compensate the family are rejected, with Jiazhen declaring that he owed them a life.
The story moves forward again another decade, to the Cultural Revolution
. The village chief advises Fugui's family to burn their shadow puppet drama props, which have been deemed as counter-revolutionary as they are representative of traditional Chinese culture. Fengxia is now grown up. Her family arranges for her to meet Wan Erxi (S:万二喜, T: 萬二喜, Wàn Èrxǐ), a local leader of the Red Guards
who also has a disability. They fall in love and soon marry, and Fengxia becomes pregnant.
It is revealed that Chunsheng, the district chief, has been branded a reactionary and a capitalist. Throughout the years, Fugui had forgiven Chunsheng, but Jiazhen does not want to see him. He arrives late at night to inform Fugui and Jiazhen that his wife has committed suicide and implies that he plans to do so also as he was unable to cope with both losing his wife and killing Youqing. Chunsheng gives Fugui the bank certificate for all of his money as a form of his final apology and wished that they accept the money before his death. Fugui refuses to take it, and Jiazhen, who up to that point had refused to talk to Chunsheng, reconciles with him and encouragingly tells him to keep living, because "You still owe us a life!"
Months later, during Fengxia's childbirth, her parents and husband accompany her to the county hospital, where they find out that young medical students are in charge. Since all doctors have been sent to do hard labor for being "reactionary academic authorities", the students are left as the only ones in charge, despite being so young. The nurses tell the family that both the child and mother will be fine, but the family is skeptical. Wan Erxi manages to retrieve a doctor from confinement to oversee the birth. As the doctor has not eaten for several days, Fugui purchases seven steamed buns (mantou
) for him. Fugui and Jiazhen decides to name the son Mantou, after the buns, or at least until he is born. Soon, a healthy baby boy is born, and everything seems to have gone perfectly.
However, Fengxia begins to hemorrhage, and the nurses panic, admitting that they do not know what to do. The family and nurses seek the advice of the doctor, but find that he has overeaten and is semiconscious. The family is helpless, and Fengxia dies from hypovolemia
. Her parents decide to keep the baby's name as Mantou, or "little bun".
The movie ends six years later, with the family now consisting of Fugui, Jiazhen, their son-in-law Erxi, and grandson Mantou. The family visits the graves of Youqing and Fengxia, where Jiazhen, as per tradition, leaves dumplings for her son. Erxi buys a box full of young chicks for his son, which they decide to keep in the chest formerly used for the shadow puppet props. When Mantou inquires how long it will take for the chicks to grow up, Fugui's response is a more tempered version of something he said earlier in the film, that the chickens would grow into geese, which would grow into sheep, which would grow into oxen. However, in spite of all of his personal hardships, he expresses optimism for his grandson's future, and the film ends with his statement, "and life will get better and better" (also mentioned earlier) as the whole family sits down to eat.
, said that the novel has a "darker and more existential" message and a "much more brutal" reality and social critique, while film renders Communist ideals to be failed, but offers a capitalist China as having promise. Berry says that the film "allows more room for the hand of fate to hold sway."
To Live is a Chinese film
directed by Zhang Yimou
in 1994, starring Ge You
, Gong Li
, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio
and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name
by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films (Ju Dou
and Raise the Red Lantern
), director Zhang Yimou's To Live came with high expectations. It is the first Chinese film that had its foreign distribution rights pre-sold.
The film was banned in mainland China
by the Chinese State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television
due to its critical portrayal of various policies and campaigns of the Communist government. Zhang Yimou was also banned from filmmaking for two years.
To Live was screened at the 1994 New York Film Festival
before eventually receiving a limited release in the United States on November 18, 1994.
originally intended to adapt "Mistake at River's Edge," a thriller written by Yu Hua. Yu gave Zhang a set of all of the works that had been published at that point so Zhang could understand his works. Zhang said that he began reading To Live
, one of the works, and was unable to stop reading it. Zhang met Yu to discuss the script for "Mistake at River's Edge," but they kept bringing up To Live. The two decided to have To Live adapted instead.
.
The story begins some time in the 1940s. Xu Fugui (徐福贵 Xú Fúguì, Ge You
) is a local rich man's son and compulsive gambler, who loses his family property to a man named Long'er (S:龙二, T: 龍二, Lóng'èr). His behaviour also causes his long-suffering wife Jiazhen (家珍 Jiāzhēn, Gong Li
) to leave him, along with their daughter, Fengxia (S: 徐凤霞, T: 徐凤霞 Xú Fèngxiá) and their unborn son, Youqing (徐有庆 Xú Yǒuqìng).
After he loses his entire family fortune, Fugui eventually reunites with his wife and children, but is forced to start a shadow puppet
troupe with a partner named Chunsheng (春生 Chūnshēng), using puppets donated by Long'er to support his family. The Chinese Civil War
is occurring at the time, and both Fugui and Chunsheng are conscripted into the Kuomintang
during a performance. Eventually Fugui is able to return home and explain his absence, only to find out that Fengxia has become mute and lost most of her hearing due to a fever.
It is revealed that Long'er did not want to donate any of his wealth to the "people's government", and when they tried to pressure him to do so, they only enraged him further so that he decided to burn all of his property instead of giving it away. No one helped to extinguish the fire due to Long'er's bad reputation, and he was designated a reactionary. Fugui realizes the serendipity of losing their fortune to Long'er, for he could have been executed had he not lost it in their bet.
The story moves forward a decade into the future, to the time of the Great Leap Forward
. The local town chief enlists everyone to donate all scrap iron in their possession, including cookware, to the national drive to produce steel
and make weaponry for retaking Taiwan
. As an entertainer, Fugui performs for the entire town, and so is allowed to keep the small pins that hold his puppets together. The town, which has been devoted entirely to producing steel, also establishes a communal kitchen for everyone to get food from.
Soon after, some boys have begun picking on Fengxia, who cannot fight back or tell anyone since she cannot speak. Youqing, who adores his older sister, decides to get back at one of the boys by dumping a huge bowl of noodles and chili sauce onto his head at the public kitchen. In the fury afterward, one man accuses Youqing, and by default, Fugui, of trying to sabotage the kitchens. Since Youqing will not apologize, Fugui begins to paddle him. Later, when they have returned home, Fugui learns of the reasons of his son's actions, and tries to apologize, only to be rebuffed.
That night, when he is giving another shadow play to the workers, he asks Jiazhen to convince Youqing to come see it, as a way to make it better between them. In the end, Youqing does come, and with a bowl of tea for his father. But only because his mother has given him the idea of putting vinegar and chili sauce in it, as well as helped him, as a way of payback. In the end, Fugui ends up ragingly and eventually playfully chasing his son around the smelting area. The mother's actions also made it look like the child was just a prankster, and make the people no longer think Youqing's actions was sabotage set up by Fugui.
One day a while later, while Fengxia and Youqing are sleeping, several of Youqing's classmates come by to tell him that they have to go to school now, since the District Chief is coming. Still sleepy, Fugui carries him there, despite his wife wishing to let him sleep, since he has not been able to sleep well in weeks. Tragically, the boy falls asleep against a wall, which the District Chief's truck accidentally knocks over, killing Youqing.
At the grave site of the boy, his mother leaves for him a lunchbox of 20 stale dumpling
s, which were intended as his lunch for school that day, plus 20 newly made dumplings. The District Chief visits the family at the grave, only to be revealed as Chunsheng. His attempts to apologize and compensate the family are rejected, with Jiazhen declaring that he owed them a life.
The story moves forward again another decade, to the Cultural Revolution
. The village chief advises Fugui's family to burn their shadow puppet drama props, which have been deemed as counter-revolutionary as they are representative of traditional Chinese culture. Fengxia is now grown up. Her family arranges for her to meet Wan Erxi (S:万二喜, T: 萬二喜, Wàn Èrxǐ), a local leader of the Red Guards
who also has a disability. They fall in love and soon marry, and Fengxia becomes pregnant.
It is revealed that Chunsheng, the district chief, has been branded a reactionary and a capitalist. Throughout the years, Fugui had forgiven Chunsheng, but Jiazhen does not want to see him. He arrives late at night to inform Fugui and Jiazhen that his wife has committed suicide and implies that he plans to do so also as he was unable to cope with both losing his wife and killing Youqing. Chunsheng gives Fugui the bank certificate for all of his money as a form of his final apology and wished that they accept the money before his death. Fugui refuses to take it, and Jiazhen, who up to that point had refused to talk to Chunsheng, reconciles with him and encouragingly tells him to keep living, because "You still owe us a life!"
Months later, during Fengxia's childbirth, her parents and husband accompany her to the county hospital, where they find out that young medical students are in charge. Since all doctors have been sent to do hard labor for being "reactionary academic authorities", the students are left as the only ones in charge, despite being so young. The nurses tell the family that both the child and mother will be fine, but the family is skeptical. Wan Erxi manages to retrieve a doctor from confinement to oversee the birth. As the doctor has not eaten for several days, Fugui purchases seven steamed buns (mantou
) for him. Fugui and Jiazhen decides to name the son Mantou, after the buns, or at least until he is born. Soon, a healthy baby boy is born, and everything seems to have gone perfectly.
However, Fengxia begins to hemorrhage, and the nurses panic, admitting that they do not know what to do. The family and nurses seek the advice of the doctor, but find that he has overeaten and is semiconscious. The family is helpless, and Fengxia dies from hypovolemia
. Her parents decide to keep the baby's name as Mantou, or "little bun".
The movie ends six years later, with the family now consisting of Fugui, Jiazhen, their son-in-law Erxi, and grandson Mantou. The family visits the graves of Youqing and Fengxia, where Jiazhen, as per tradition, leaves dumplings for her son. Erxi buys a box full of young chicks for his son, which they decide to keep in the chest formerly used for the shadow puppet props. When Mantou inquires how long it will take for the chicks to grow up, Fugui's response is a more tempered version of something he said earlier in the film, that the chickens would grow into geese, which would grow into sheep, which would grow into oxen. However, in spite of all of his personal hardships, he expresses optimism for his grandson's future, and the film ends with his statement, "and life will get better and better" (also mentioned earlier) as the whole family sits down to eat.
, said that the novel has a "darker and more existential" message and a "much more brutal" reality and social critique, while film renders Communist ideals to be failed, but offers a capitalist China as having promise. Berry says that the film "allows more room for the hand of fate to hold sway."
Cinema of China
The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...
directed by Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
in 1994, starring Ge You
Ge You
Ge You is an acclaimed Mainland Chinese actor. A native of Beijing, he is considered by many to be one of the most recognizable acting personalities in the Mainland...
, Gong Li
Gong Li
Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio
Shanghai Film Studio
Shanghai Film Studio is the film division of the Shanghai Film Group Corporation in Shanghai, China. It is responsible for the production of Chinese films and TV programs.-History:...
and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name
To Live
To Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films (Ju Dou
Ju Dou
Ju Dou is a 1990 Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang and starring Gong Li as the title character. It is notable for being shot in vivid Technicolor long after the process had been abandoned in the United States...
and Raise the Red Lantern
Raise the Red Lantern
Raise the Red Lantern is a 1991 film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It is an adaption by Ni Zhen of the 1990 novel Wives and Concubines by Su Tong...
), director Zhang Yimou's To Live came with high expectations. It is the first Chinese film that had its foreign distribution rights pre-sold.
The film was banned in mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
by the Chinese State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television
State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television
The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television is an executive branch under the State Council of the People's Republic of China...
due to its critical portrayal of various policies and campaigns of the Communist government. Zhang Yimou was also banned from filmmaking for two years.
To Live was screened at the 1994 New York Film Festival
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
before eventually receiving a limited release in the United States on November 18, 1994.
Development
Zhang YimouZhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
originally intended to adapt "Mistake at River's Edge," a thriller written by Yu Hua. Yu gave Zhang a set of all of the works that had been published at that point so Zhang could understand his works. Zhang said that he began reading To Live
To Live
To Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
, one of the works, and was unable to stop reading it. Zhang met Yu to discuss the script for "Mistake at River's Edge," but they kept bringing up To Live. The two decided to have To Live adapted instead.
Synopsis
The film is based on Yu Hua's novel To LiveTo Live
To Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
.
The story begins some time in the 1940s. Xu Fugui (徐福贵 Xú Fúguì, Ge You
Ge You
Ge You is an acclaimed Mainland Chinese actor. A native of Beijing, he is considered by many to be one of the most recognizable acting personalities in the Mainland...
) is a local rich man's son and compulsive gambler, who loses his family property to a man named Long'er (S:龙二, T: 龍二, Lóng'èr). His behaviour also causes his long-suffering wife Jiazhen (家珍 Jiāzhēn, Gong Li
Gong Li
Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
) to leave him, along with their daughter, Fengxia (S: 徐凤霞, T: 徐凤霞 Xú Fèngxiá) and their unborn son, Youqing (徐有庆 Xú Yǒuqìng).
After he loses his entire family fortune, Fugui eventually reunites with his wife and children, but is forced to start a shadow puppet
Shadow play
Shadow play or shadow puppetry Shadow puppets have a long history in China, India, Turkey and Java, and as a popular form of entertainment for both children and adults in many countries around the world. A shadow puppet is a cut-out figure held between a source of light and a translucent screen...
troupe with a partner named Chunsheng (春生 Chūnshēng), using puppets donated by Long'er to support his family. The Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
is occurring at the time, and both Fugui and Chunsheng are conscripted into the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
during a performance. Eventually Fugui is able to return home and explain his absence, only to find out that Fengxia has become mute and lost most of her hearing due to a fever.
It is revealed that Long'er did not want to donate any of his wealth to the "people's government", and when they tried to pressure him to do so, they only enraged him further so that he decided to burn all of his property instead of giving it away. No one helped to extinguish the fire due to Long'er's bad reputation, and he was designated a reactionary. Fugui realizes the serendipity of losing their fortune to Long'er, for he could have been executed had he not lost it in their bet.
The story moves forward a decade into the future, to the time of the Great Leap Forward
Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward of the People's Republic of China was an economic and social campaign of the Communist Party of China , reflected in planning decisions from 1958 to 1961, which aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern...
. The local town chief enlists everyone to donate all scrap iron in their possession, including cookware, to the national drive to produce steel
Backyard furnace
Backyard steel furnaces were used by the people of China during the Great Leap Forward . These small steel blast furnaces were constructed in the backyards of the communes, hence their names. People used every type of fuel they could to power these furnaces, from coal to the wood of coffins...
and make weaponry for retaking Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. As an entertainer, Fugui performs for the entire town, and so is allowed to keep the small pins that hold his puppets together. The town, which has been devoted entirely to producing steel, also establishes a communal kitchen for everyone to get food from.
Soon after, some boys have begun picking on Fengxia, who cannot fight back or tell anyone since she cannot speak. Youqing, who adores his older sister, decides to get back at one of the boys by dumping a huge bowl of noodles and chili sauce onto his head at the public kitchen. In the fury afterward, one man accuses Youqing, and by default, Fugui, of trying to sabotage the kitchens. Since Youqing will not apologize, Fugui begins to paddle him. Later, when they have returned home, Fugui learns of the reasons of his son's actions, and tries to apologize, only to be rebuffed.
That night, when he is giving another shadow play to the workers, he asks Jiazhen to convince Youqing to come see it, as a way to make it better between them. In the end, Youqing does come, and with a bowl of tea for his father. But only because his mother has given him the idea of putting vinegar and chili sauce in it, as well as helped him, as a way of payback. In the end, Fugui ends up ragingly and eventually playfully chasing his son around the smelting area. The mother's actions also made it look like the child was just a prankster, and make the people no longer think Youqing's actions was sabotage set up by Fugui.
One day a while later, while Fengxia and Youqing are sleeping, several of Youqing's classmates come by to tell him that they have to go to school now, since the District Chief is coming. Still sleepy, Fugui carries him there, despite his wife wishing to let him sleep, since he has not been able to sleep well in weeks. Tragically, the boy falls asleep against a wall, which the District Chief's truck accidentally knocks over, killing Youqing.
At the grave site of the boy, his mother leaves for him a lunchbox of 20 stale dumpling
Dumpling
Dumplings are cooked balls of dough. They are based on flour, potatoes or bread, and may include meat, fish, vegetables, or sweets. They may be cooked by boiling, steaming, simmering, frying, or baking. They may have a filling, or there may be other ingredients mixed into the dough. Dumplings may...
s, which were intended as his lunch for school that day, plus 20 newly made dumplings. The District Chief visits the family at the grave, only to be revealed as Chunsheng. His attempts to apologize and compensate the family are rejected, with Jiazhen declaring that he owed them a life.
The story moves forward again another decade, to the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
. The village chief advises Fugui's family to burn their shadow puppet drama props, which have been deemed as counter-revolutionary as they are representative of traditional Chinese culture. Fengxia is now grown up. Her family arranges for her to meet Wan Erxi (S:万二喜, T: 萬二喜, Wàn Èrxǐ), a local leader of the Red Guards
Red Guards (China)
Red Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the People's Republic of China , who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
who also has a disability. They fall in love and soon marry, and Fengxia becomes pregnant.
It is revealed that Chunsheng, the district chief, has been branded a reactionary and a capitalist. Throughout the years, Fugui had forgiven Chunsheng, but Jiazhen does not want to see him. He arrives late at night to inform Fugui and Jiazhen that his wife has committed suicide and implies that he plans to do so also as he was unable to cope with both losing his wife and killing Youqing. Chunsheng gives Fugui the bank certificate for all of his money as a form of his final apology and wished that they accept the money before his death. Fugui refuses to take it, and Jiazhen, who up to that point had refused to talk to Chunsheng, reconciles with him and encouragingly tells him to keep living, because "You still owe us a life!"
Months later, during Fengxia's childbirth, her parents and husband accompany her to the county hospital, where they find out that young medical students are in charge. Since all doctors have been sent to do hard labor for being "reactionary academic authorities", the students are left as the only ones in charge, despite being so young. The nurses tell the family that both the child and mother will be fine, but the family is skeptical. Wan Erxi manages to retrieve a doctor from confinement to oversee the birth. As the doctor has not eaten for several days, Fugui purchases seven steamed buns (mantou
Mantou
Mantou, often referred to as Chinese steamed bun/bread, is a kind of steamed bun originating in China. They are typically eaten as a staple in northern parts of China where wheat, rather than rice, is grown. They are made with milled wheat flour, water and leavening agents...
) for him. Fugui and Jiazhen decides to name the son Mantou, after the buns, or at least until he is born. Soon, a healthy baby boy is born, and everything seems to have gone perfectly.
However, Fengxia begins to hemorrhage, and the nurses panic, admitting that they do not know what to do. The family and nurses seek the advice of the doctor, but find that he has overeaten and is semiconscious. The family is helpless, and Fengxia dies from hypovolemia
Hypovolemia
In physiology and medicine, hypovolemia is a state of decreased blood volume; more specifically, decrease in volume of blood plasma...
. Her parents decide to keep the baby's name as Mantou, or "little bun".
The movie ends six years later, with the family now consisting of Fugui, Jiazhen, their son-in-law Erxi, and grandson Mantou. The family visits the graves of Youqing and Fengxia, where Jiazhen, as per tradition, leaves dumplings for her son. Erxi buys a box full of young chicks for his son, which they decide to keep in the chest formerly used for the shadow puppet props. When Mantou inquires how long it will take for the chicks to grow up, Fugui's response is a more tempered version of something he said earlier in the film, that the chickens would grow into geese, which would grow into sheep, which would grow into oxen. However, in spite of all of his personal hardships, he expresses optimism for his grandson's future, and the film ends with his statement, "and life will get better and better" (also mentioned earlier) as the whole family sits down to eat.
Characters
- Xu Fugui
- Fugui has a sense of political idealism that is not present in the original novelTo LiveTo Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
. By the end of the film he loses this sense of idealism.
- Fugui has a sense of political idealism that is not present in the original novel
Differences
The film changes the setting from rural southern China to a small city in northern China. The film added the element of Fugui's shadow puppetry. The second narrator and the ox are not present in the film. Michael Berry, the editor of an English edition of the novel To LiveTo Live
To Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
, said that the novel has a "darker and more existential" message and a "much more brutal" reality and social critique, while film renders Communist ideals to be failed, but offers a capitalist China as having promise. Berry says that the film "allows more room for the hand of fate to hold sway."
Awards and nominations
- 1994 Cannes Film Festival1994 Cannes Film FestivalThe 1994 Cannes Film Festival started on 12 May and ran until 23 May. The Palme d'Or went to the American film Pulp Fiction directed by Quentin Tarantino.-Official Selection:*Clint Eastwood *Catherine Deneuve...
- Grand Jury PrizeGrand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)The Grand Prix is an award of the Cannes Film Festival bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. It is the second-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d'Or...
—Tied with Burnt by the SunBurnt by the SunBurnt by the Sun is a 1994 film by Russian director and actor Nikita Mikhalkov. The film depicts the story of a senior Red Army officer and his family during the Great Purge of the late 1930s in the Stalinist Soviet Union... - Prize of the Ecumenical JuryPrize of the Ecumenical JuryThe Prize of the Ecumenical Jury is an independent film award for feature films at the Cannes Film Festival since 1974. The Ecumenical Jury is one of three juries at the Cannes Film Festival, along with the official jury and the FIPRESCI jury. The award was created by Christian film makers, film...
—Tied with Burnt by the SunBurnt by the SunBurnt by the Sun is a 1994 film by Russian director and actor Nikita Mikhalkov. The film depicts the story of a senior Red Army officer and his family during the Great Purge of the late 1930s in the Stalinist Soviet Union... - Best ActorBest Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)The Best Actor Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.- Award Winners :-External links:* * ....
—Ge YouGe YouGe You is an acclaimed Mainland Chinese actor. A native of Beijing, he is considered by many to be one of the most recognizable acting personalities in the Mainland... - Palme d'OrPalme d'OrThe Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
(nominated)
- Grand Jury Prize
- BAFTA Awards, 19951995 in film-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
- Best Film Not in the English Language
- Golden Globe Awards, 19941994 in film1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
- Best Foreign Language Film (nominated)
- Chlotrudis AwardsChlotrudis Awards 1995The 1st Annual Chlotrudis Awards were presented in March 1995 by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film.-Best Movie:The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert* Bullets Over Broadway* Little Women* Pulp Fiction...
, 19951995 in film-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
- Best Actress—Gong LiGong LiGong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
(nominated)
- Best Actress—Gong Li
See also
- Banned films in China
- Censorship in the People's Republic of ChinaCensorship in the People's Republic of ChinaCensorship in the People's Republic of China is implemented or mandated by the PRC's ruling party, the Communist Party of China . The special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau have their own legal systems and are largely self-governing, so these censorship policies do not apply...
- List of Chinese films
Further reading
- Giskin, Howard and Bettye S. Walsh. An Introduction to Chinese Culture Through the Family. SUNY Press, 2001. ISBN 0791450481, 9780791450482.
- Xiao, Zhiwei. "Reviewed work(s): The Wooden Man's Bride by Ying-Hsiang Wang; Yu Shi; Li Xudong; Huang Jianxin; Yang Zhengguang Farewell My Concubine by Feng Hsu; Chen Kaige; Lillian Lee; Wei Lu The Blue Kite by Tian Zhuangzhuang To Live by Zhang Yimou; Yu Hua; Wei Lu; Fusheng Chin; Funhong Kow; Christophe Tseng." The American Historical Review. Vol. 100, No. 4 (Oct., 1995), pp. 1212-1215
External links
- To Live at the Chinese Movie Database
- Source:Pinyin translated with CozyChinese.com
To Live is a Chinese film
Cinema of China
The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...
directed by Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
in 1994, starring Ge You
Ge You
Ge You is an acclaimed Mainland Chinese actor. A native of Beijing, he is considered by many to be one of the most recognizable acting personalities in the Mainland...
, Gong Li
Gong Li
Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio
Shanghai Film Studio
Shanghai Film Studio is the film division of the Shanghai Film Group Corporation in Shanghai, China. It is responsible for the production of Chinese films and TV programs.-History:...
and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name
To Live
To Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films (Ju Dou
Ju Dou
Ju Dou is a 1990 Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang and starring Gong Li as the title character. It is notable for being shot in vivid Technicolor long after the process had been abandoned in the United States...
and Raise the Red Lantern
Raise the Red Lantern
Raise the Red Lantern is a 1991 film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It is an adaption by Ni Zhen of the 1990 novel Wives and Concubines by Su Tong...
), director Zhang Yimou's To Live came with high expectations. It is the first Chinese film that had its foreign distribution rights pre-sold.
The film was banned in mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
by the Chinese State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television
State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television
The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television is an executive branch under the State Council of the People's Republic of China...
due to its critical portrayal of various policies and campaigns of the Communist government. Zhang Yimou was also banned from filmmaking for two years.
To Live was screened at the 1994 New York Film Festival
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
before eventually receiving a limited release in the United States on November 18, 1994.
Development
Zhang YimouZhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
originally intended to adapt "Mistake at River's Edge," a thriller written by Yu Hua. Yu gave Zhang a set of all of the works that had been published at that point so Zhang could understand his works. Zhang said that he began reading To Live
To Live
To Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
, one of the works, and was unable to stop reading it. Zhang met Yu to discuss the script for "Mistake at River's Edge," but they kept bringing up To Live. The two decided to have To Live adapted instead.
Synopsis
The film is based on Yu Hua's novel To LiveTo Live
To Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
.
The story begins some time in the 1940s. Xu Fugui (徐福贵 Xú Fúguì, Ge You
Ge You
Ge You is an acclaimed Mainland Chinese actor. A native of Beijing, he is considered by many to be one of the most recognizable acting personalities in the Mainland...
) is a local rich man's son and compulsive gambler, who loses his family property to a man named Long'er (S:龙二, T: 龍二, Lóng'èr). His behaviour also causes his long-suffering wife Jiazhen (家珍 Jiāzhēn, Gong Li
Gong Li
Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
) to leave him, along with their daughter, Fengxia (S: 徐凤霞, T: 徐凤霞 Xú Fèngxiá) and their unborn son, Youqing (徐有庆 Xú Yǒuqìng).
After he loses his entire family fortune, Fugui eventually reunites with his wife and children, but is forced to start a shadow puppet
Shadow play
Shadow play or shadow puppetry Shadow puppets have a long history in China, India, Turkey and Java, and as a popular form of entertainment for both children and adults in many countries around the world. A shadow puppet is a cut-out figure held between a source of light and a translucent screen...
troupe with a partner named Chunsheng (春生 Chūnshēng), using puppets donated by Long'er to support his family. The Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
is occurring at the time, and both Fugui and Chunsheng are conscripted into the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
during a performance. Eventually Fugui is able to return home and explain his absence, only to find out that Fengxia has become mute and lost most of her hearing due to a fever.
It is revealed that Long'er did not want to donate any of his wealth to the "people's government", and when they tried to pressure him to do so, they only enraged him further so that he decided to burn all of his property instead of giving it away. No one helped to extinguish the fire due to Long'er's bad reputation, and he was designated a reactionary. Fugui realizes the serendipity of losing their fortune to Long'er, for he could have been executed had he not lost it in their bet.
The story moves forward a decade into the future, to the time of the Great Leap Forward
Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward of the People's Republic of China was an economic and social campaign of the Communist Party of China , reflected in planning decisions from 1958 to 1961, which aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern...
. The local town chief enlists everyone to donate all scrap iron in their possession, including cookware, to the national drive to produce steel
Backyard furnace
Backyard steel furnaces were used by the people of China during the Great Leap Forward . These small steel blast furnaces were constructed in the backyards of the communes, hence their names. People used every type of fuel they could to power these furnaces, from coal to the wood of coffins...
and make weaponry for retaking Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. As an entertainer, Fugui performs for the entire town, and so is allowed to keep the small pins that hold his puppets together. The town, which has been devoted entirely to producing steel, also establishes a communal kitchen for everyone to get food from.
Soon after, some boys have begun picking on Fengxia, who cannot fight back or tell anyone since she cannot speak. Youqing, who adores his older sister, decides to get back at one of the boys by dumping a huge bowl of noodles and chili sauce onto his head at the public kitchen. In the fury afterward, one man accuses Youqing, and by default, Fugui, of trying to sabotage the kitchens. Since Youqing will not apologize, Fugui begins to paddle him. Later, when they have returned home, Fugui learns of the reasons of his son's actions, and tries to apologize, only to be rebuffed.
That night, when he is giving another shadow play to the workers, he asks Jiazhen to convince Youqing to come see it, as a way to make it better between them. In the end, Youqing does come, and with a bowl of tea for his father. But only because his mother has given him the idea of putting vinegar and chili sauce in it, as well as helped him, as a way of payback. In the end, Fugui ends up ragingly and eventually playfully chasing his son around the smelting area. The mother's actions also made it look like the child was just a prankster, and make the people no longer think Youqing's actions was sabotage set up by Fugui.
One day a while later, while Fengxia and Youqing are sleeping, several of Youqing's classmates come by to tell him that they have to go to school now, since the District Chief is coming. Still sleepy, Fugui carries him there, despite his wife wishing to let him sleep, since he has not been able to sleep well in weeks. Tragically, the boy falls asleep against a wall, which the District Chief's truck accidentally knocks over, killing Youqing.
At the grave site of the boy, his mother leaves for him a lunchbox of 20 stale dumpling
Dumpling
Dumplings are cooked balls of dough. They are based on flour, potatoes or bread, and may include meat, fish, vegetables, or sweets. They may be cooked by boiling, steaming, simmering, frying, or baking. They may have a filling, or there may be other ingredients mixed into the dough. Dumplings may...
s, which were intended as his lunch for school that day, plus 20 newly made dumplings. The District Chief visits the family at the grave, only to be revealed as Chunsheng. His attempts to apologize and compensate the family are rejected, with Jiazhen declaring that he owed them a life.
The story moves forward again another decade, to the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
. The village chief advises Fugui's family to burn their shadow puppet drama props, which have been deemed as counter-revolutionary as they are representative of traditional Chinese culture. Fengxia is now grown up. Her family arranges for her to meet Wan Erxi (S:万二喜, T: 萬二喜, Wàn Èrxǐ), a local leader of the Red Guards
Red Guards (China)
Red Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the People's Republic of China , who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
who also has a disability. They fall in love and soon marry, and Fengxia becomes pregnant.
It is revealed that Chunsheng, the district chief, has been branded a reactionary and a capitalist. Throughout the years, Fugui had forgiven Chunsheng, but Jiazhen does not want to see him. He arrives late at night to inform Fugui and Jiazhen that his wife has committed suicide and implies that he plans to do so also as he was unable to cope with both losing his wife and killing Youqing. Chunsheng gives Fugui the bank certificate for all of his money as a form of his final apology and wished that they accept the money before his death. Fugui refuses to take it, and Jiazhen, who up to that point had refused to talk to Chunsheng, reconciles with him and encouragingly tells him to keep living, because "You still owe us a life!"
Months later, during Fengxia's childbirth, her parents and husband accompany her to the county hospital, where they find out that young medical students are in charge. Since all doctors have been sent to do hard labor for being "reactionary academic authorities", the students are left as the only ones in charge, despite being so young. The nurses tell the family that both the child and mother will be fine, but the family is skeptical. Wan Erxi manages to retrieve a doctor from confinement to oversee the birth. As the doctor has not eaten for several days, Fugui purchases seven steamed buns (mantou
Mantou
Mantou, often referred to as Chinese steamed bun/bread, is a kind of steamed bun originating in China. They are typically eaten as a staple in northern parts of China where wheat, rather than rice, is grown. They are made with milled wheat flour, water and leavening agents...
) for him. Fugui and Jiazhen decides to name the son Mantou, after the buns, or at least until he is born. Soon, a healthy baby boy is born, and everything seems to have gone perfectly.
However, Fengxia begins to hemorrhage, and the nurses panic, admitting that they do not know what to do. The family and nurses seek the advice of the doctor, but find that he has overeaten and is semiconscious. The family is helpless, and Fengxia dies from hypovolemia
Hypovolemia
In physiology and medicine, hypovolemia is a state of decreased blood volume; more specifically, decrease in volume of blood plasma...
. Her parents decide to keep the baby's name as Mantou, or "little bun".
The movie ends six years later, with the family now consisting of Fugui, Jiazhen, their son-in-law Erxi, and grandson Mantou. The family visits the graves of Youqing and Fengxia, where Jiazhen, as per tradition, leaves dumplings for her son. Erxi buys a box full of young chicks for his son, which they decide to keep in the chest formerly used for the shadow puppet props. When Mantou inquires how long it will take for the chicks to grow up, Fugui's response is a more tempered version of something he said earlier in the film, that the chickens would grow into geese, which would grow into sheep, which would grow into oxen. However, in spite of all of his personal hardships, he expresses optimism for his grandson's future, and the film ends with his statement, "and life will get better and better" (also mentioned earlier) as the whole family sits down to eat.
Characters
- Xu Fugui
- Fugui has a sense of political idealism that is not present in the original novelTo LiveTo Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
. By the end of the film he loses this sense of idealism.
- Fugui has a sense of political idealism that is not present in the original novel
Differences
The film changes the setting from rural southern China to a small city in northern China. The film added the element of Fugui's shadow puppetry. The second narrator and the ox are not present in the film. Michael Berry, the editor of an English edition of the novel To LiveTo Live
To Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
, said that the novel has a "darker and more existential" message and a "much more brutal" reality and social critique, while film renders Communist ideals to be failed, but offers a capitalist China as having promise. Berry says that the film "allows more room for the hand of fate to hold sway."
Awards and nominations
- 1994 Cannes Film Festival1994 Cannes Film FestivalThe 1994 Cannes Film Festival started on 12 May and ran until 23 May. The Palme d'Or went to the American film Pulp Fiction directed by Quentin Tarantino.-Official Selection:*Clint Eastwood *Catherine Deneuve...
- Grand Jury PrizeGrand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)The Grand Prix is an award of the Cannes Film Festival bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. It is the second-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d'Or...
—Tied with Burnt by the SunBurnt by the SunBurnt by the Sun is a 1994 film by Russian director and actor Nikita Mikhalkov. The film depicts the story of a senior Red Army officer and his family during the Great Purge of the late 1930s in the Stalinist Soviet Union... - Prize of the Ecumenical JuryPrize of the Ecumenical JuryThe Prize of the Ecumenical Jury is an independent film award for feature films at the Cannes Film Festival since 1974. The Ecumenical Jury is one of three juries at the Cannes Film Festival, along with the official jury and the FIPRESCI jury. The award was created by Christian film makers, film...
—Tied with Burnt by the SunBurnt by the SunBurnt by the Sun is a 1994 film by Russian director and actor Nikita Mikhalkov. The film depicts the story of a senior Red Army officer and his family during the Great Purge of the late 1930s in the Stalinist Soviet Union... - Best ActorBest Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)The Best Actor Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.- Award Winners :-External links:* * ....
—Ge YouGe YouGe You is an acclaimed Mainland Chinese actor. A native of Beijing, he is considered by many to be one of the most recognizable acting personalities in the Mainland... - Palme d'OrPalme d'OrThe Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
(nominated)
- Grand Jury Prize
- BAFTA Awards, 19951995 in film-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
- Best Film Not in the English Language
- Golden Globe Awards, 19941994 in film1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
- Best Foreign Language Film (nominated)
- Chlotrudis AwardsChlotrudis Awards 1995The 1st Annual Chlotrudis Awards were presented in March 1995 by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film.-Best Movie:The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert* Bullets Over Broadway* Little Women* Pulp Fiction...
, 19951995 in film-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
- Best Actress—Gong LiGong LiGong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
(nominated)
- Best Actress—Gong Li
See also
- Banned films in China
- Censorship in the People's Republic of ChinaCensorship in the People's Republic of ChinaCensorship in the People's Republic of China is implemented or mandated by the PRC's ruling party, the Communist Party of China . The special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau have their own legal systems and are largely self-governing, so these censorship policies do not apply...
- List of Chinese films
Further reading
- Giskin, Howard and Bettye S. Walsh. An Introduction to Chinese Culture Through the Family. SUNY Press, 2001. ISBN 0791450481, 9780791450482.
- Xiao, Zhiwei. "Reviewed work(s): The Wooden Man's Bride by Ying-Hsiang Wang; Yu Shi; Li Xudong; Huang Jianxin; Yang Zhengguang Farewell My Concubine by Feng Hsu; Chen Kaige; Lillian Lee; Wei Lu The Blue Kite by Tian Zhuangzhuang To Live by Zhang Yimou; Yu Hua; Wei Lu; Fusheng Chin; Funhong Kow; Christophe Tseng." The American Historical Review. Vol. 100, No. 4 (Oct., 1995), pp. 1212-1215
External links
- To Live at the Chinese Movie Database
- Source:Pinyin translated with CozyChinese.com
To Live is a Chinese film
Cinema of China
The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...
directed by Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
in 1994, starring Ge You
Ge You
Ge You is an acclaimed Mainland Chinese actor. A native of Beijing, he is considered by many to be one of the most recognizable acting personalities in the Mainland...
, Gong Li
Gong Li
Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio
Shanghai Film Studio
Shanghai Film Studio is the film division of the Shanghai Film Group Corporation in Shanghai, China. It is responsible for the production of Chinese films and TV programs.-History:...
and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name
To Live
To Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films (Ju Dou
Ju Dou
Ju Dou is a 1990 Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang and starring Gong Li as the title character. It is notable for being shot in vivid Technicolor long after the process had been abandoned in the United States...
and Raise the Red Lantern
Raise the Red Lantern
Raise the Red Lantern is a 1991 film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It is an adaption by Ni Zhen of the 1990 novel Wives and Concubines by Su Tong...
), director Zhang Yimou's To Live came with high expectations. It is the first Chinese film that had its foreign distribution rights pre-sold.
The film was banned in mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
by the Chinese State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television
State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television
The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television is an executive branch under the State Council of the People's Republic of China...
due to its critical portrayal of various policies and campaigns of the Communist government. Zhang Yimou was also banned from filmmaking for two years.
To Live was screened at the 1994 New York Film Festival
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
before eventually receiving a limited release in the United States on November 18, 1994.
Development
Zhang YimouZhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
originally intended to adapt "Mistake at River's Edge," a thriller written by Yu Hua. Yu gave Zhang a set of all of the works that had been published at that point so Zhang could understand his works. Zhang said that he began reading To Live
To Live
To Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
, one of the works, and was unable to stop reading it. Zhang met Yu to discuss the script for "Mistake at River's Edge," but they kept bringing up To Live. The two decided to have To Live adapted instead.
Synopsis
The film is based on Yu Hua's novel To LiveTo Live
To Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
.
The story begins some time in the 1940s. Xu Fugui (徐福贵 Xú Fúguì, Ge You
Ge You
Ge You is an acclaimed Mainland Chinese actor. A native of Beijing, he is considered by many to be one of the most recognizable acting personalities in the Mainland...
) is a local rich man's son and compulsive gambler, who loses his family property to a man named Long'er (S:龙二, T: 龍二, Lóng'èr). His behaviour also causes his long-suffering wife Jiazhen (家珍 Jiāzhēn, Gong Li
Gong Li
Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
) to leave him, along with their daughter, Fengxia (S: 徐凤霞, T: 徐凤霞 Xú Fèngxiá) and their unborn son, Youqing (徐有庆 Xú Yǒuqìng).
After he loses his entire family fortune, Fugui eventually reunites with his wife and children, but is forced to start a shadow puppet
Shadow play
Shadow play or shadow puppetry Shadow puppets have a long history in China, India, Turkey and Java, and as a popular form of entertainment for both children and adults in many countries around the world. A shadow puppet is a cut-out figure held between a source of light and a translucent screen...
troupe with a partner named Chunsheng (春生 Chūnshēng), using puppets donated by Long'er to support his family. The Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
is occurring at the time, and both Fugui and Chunsheng are conscripted into the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
during a performance. Eventually Fugui is able to return home and explain his absence, only to find out that Fengxia has become mute and lost most of her hearing due to a fever.
It is revealed that Long'er did not want to donate any of his wealth to the "people's government", and when they tried to pressure him to do so, they only enraged him further so that he decided to burn all of his property instead of giving it away. No one helped to extinguish the fire due to Long'er's bad reputation, and he was designated a reactionary. Fugui realizes the serendipity of losing their fortune to Long'er, for he could have been executed had he not lost it in their bet.
The story moves forward a decade into the future, to the time of the Great Leap Forward
Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward of the People's Republic of China was an economic and social campaign of the Communist Party of China , reflected in planning decisions from 1958 to 1961, which aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern...
. The local town chief enlists everyone to donate all scrap iron in their possession, including cookware, to the national drive to produce steel
Backyard furnace
Backyard steel furnaces were used by the people of China during the Great Leap Forward . These small steel blast furnaces were constructed in the backyards of the communes, hence their names. People used every type of fuel they could to power these furnaces, from coal to the wood of coffins...
and make weaponry for retaking Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. As an entertainer, Fugui performs for the entire town, and so is allowed to keep the small pins that hold his puppets together. The town, which has been devoted entirely to producing steel, also establishes a communal kitchen for everyone to get food from.
Soon after, some boys have begun picking on Fengxia, who cannot fight back or tell anyone since she cannot speak. Youqing, who adores his older sister, decides to get back at one of the boys by dumping a huge bowl of noodles and chili sauce onto his head at the public kitchen. In the fury afterward, one man accuses Youqing, and by default, Fugui, of trying to sabotage the kitchens. Since Youqing will not apologize, Fugui begins to paddle him. Later, when they have returned home, Fugui learns of the reasons of his son's actions, and tries to apologize, only to be rebuffed.
That night, when he is giving another shadow play to the workers, he asks Jiazhen to convince Youqing to come see it, as a way to make it better between them. In the end, Youqing does come, and with a bowl of tea for his father. But only because his mother has given him the idea of putting vinegar and chili sauce in it, as well as helped him, as a way of payback. In the end, Fugui ends up ragingly and eventually playfully chasing his son around the smelting area. The mother's actions also made it look like the child was just a prankster, and make the people no longer think Youqing's actions was sabotage set up by Fugui.
One day a while later, while Fengxia and Youqing are sleeping, several of Youqing's classmates come by to tell him that they have to go to school now, since the District Chief is coming. Still sleepy, Fugui carries him there, despite his wife wishing to let him sleep, since he has not been able to sleep well in weeks. Tragically, the boy falls asleep against a wall, which the District Chief's truck accidentally knocks over, killing Youqing.
At the grave site of the boy, his mother leaves for him a lunchbox of 20 stale dumpling
Dumpling
Dumplings are cooked balls of dough. They are based on flour, potatoes or bread, and may include meat, fish, vegetables, or sweets. They may be cooked by boiling, steaming, simmering, frying, or baking. They may have a filling, or there may be other ingredients mixed into the dough. Dumplings may...
s, which were intended as his lunch for school that day, plus 20 newly made dumplings. The District Chief visits the family at the grave, only to be revealed as Chunsheng. His attempts to apologize and compensate the family are rejected, with Jiazhen declaring that he owed them a life.
The story moves forward again another decade, to the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
. The village chief advises Fugui's family to burn their shadow puppet drama props, which have been deemed as counter-revolutionary as they are representative of traditional Chinese culture. Fengxia is now grown up. Her family arranges for her to meet Wan Erxi (S:万二喜, T: 萬二喜, Wàn Èrxǐ), a local leader of the Red Guards
Red Guards (China)
Red Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the People's Republic of China , who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
who also has a disability. They fall in love and soon marry, and Fengxia becomes pregnant.
It is revealed that Chunsheng, the district chief, has been branded a reactionary and a capitalist. Throughout the years, Fugui had forgiven Chunsheng, but Jiazhen does not want to see him. He arrives late at night to inform Fugui and Jiazhen that his wife has committed suicide and implies that he plans to do so also as he was unable to cope with both losing his wife and killing Youqing. Chunsheng gives Fugui the bank certificate for all of his money as a form of his final apology and wished that they accept the money before his death. Fugui refuses to take it, and Jiazhen, who up to that point had refused to talk to Chunsheng, reconciles with him and encouragingly tells him to keep living, because "You still owe us a life!"
Months later, during Fengxia's childbirth, her parents and husband accompany her to the county hospital, where they find out that young medical students are in charge. Since all doctors have been sent to do hard labor for being "reactionary academic authorities", the students are left as the only ones in charge, despite being so young. The nurses tell the family that both the child and mother will be fine, but the family is skeptical. Wan Erxi manages to retrieve a doctor from confinement to oversee the birth. As the doctor has not eaten for several days, Fugui purchases seven steamed buns (mantou
Mantou
Mantou, often referred to as Chinese steamed bun/bread, is a kind of steamed bun originating in China. They are typically eaten as a staple in northern parts of China where wheat, rather than rice, is grown. They are made with milled wheat flour, water and leavening agents...
) for him. Fugui and Jiazhen decides to name the son Mantou, after the buns, or at least until he is born. Soon, a healthy baby boy is born, and everything seems to have gone perfectly.
However, Fengxia begins to hemorrhage, and the nurses panic, admitting that they do not know what to do. The family and nurses seek the advice of the doctor, but find that he has overeaten and is semiconscious. The family is helpless, and Fengxia dies from hypovolemia
Hypovolemia
In physiology and medicine, hypovolemia is a state of decreased blood volume; more specifically, decrease in volume of blood plasma...
. Her parents decide to keep the baby's name as Mantou, or "little bun".
The movie ends six years later, with the family now consisting of Fugui, Jiazhen, their son-in-law Erxi, and grandson Mantou. The family visits the graves of Youqing and Fengxia, where Jiazhen, as per tradition, leaves dumplings for her son. Erxi buys a box full of young chicks for his son, which they decide to keep in the chest formerly used for the shadow puppet props. When Mantou inquires how long it will take for the chicks to grow up, Fugui's response is a more tempered version of something he said earlier in the film, that the chickens would grow into geese, which would grow into sheep, which would grow into oxen. However, in spite of all of his personal hardships, he expresses optimism for his grandson's future, and the film ends with his statement, "and life will get better and better" (also mentioned earlier) as the whole family sits down to eat.
Characters
- Xu Fugui
- Fugui has a sense of political idealism that is not present in the original novelTo LiveTo Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
. By the end of the film he loses this sense of idealism.
- Fugui has a sense of political idealism that is not present in the original novel
Differences
The film changes the setting from rural southern China to a small city in northern China. The film added the element of Fugui's shadow puppetry. The second narrator and the ox are not present in the film. Michael Berry, the editor of an English edition of the novel To LiveTo Live
To Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
, said that the novel has a "darker and more existential" message and a "much more brutal" reality and social critique, while film renders Communist ideals to be failed, but offers a capitalist China as having promise. Berry says that the film "allows more room for the hand of fate to hold sway."
Awards and nominations
- 1994 Cannes Film Festival1994 Cannes Film FestivalThe 1994 Cannes Film Festival started on 12 May and ran until 23 May. The Palme d'Or went to the American film Pulp Fiction directed by Quentin Tarantino.-Official Selection:*Clint Eastwood *Catherine Deneuve...
- Grand Jury PrizeGrand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)The Grand Prix is an award of the Cannes Film Festival bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. It is the second-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d'Or...
—Tied with Burnt by the SunBurnt by the SunBurnt by the Sun is a 1994 film by Russian director and actor Nikita Mikhalkov. The film depicts the story of a senior Red Army officer and his family during the Great Purge of the late 1930s in the Stalinist Soviet Union... - Prize of the Ecumenical JuryPrize of the Ecumenical JuryThe Prize of the Ecumenical Jury is an independent film award for feature films at the Cannes Film Festival since 1974. The Ecumenical Jury is one of three juries at the Cannes Film Festival, along with the official jury and the FIPRESCI jury. The award was created by Christian film makers, film...
—Tied with Burnt by the SunBurnt by the SunBurnt by the Sun is a 1994 film by Russian director and actor Nikita Mikhalkov. The film depicts the story of a senior Red Army officer and his family during the Great Purge of the late 1930s in the Stalinist Soviet Union... - Best ActorBest Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)The Best Actor Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.- Award Winners :-External links:* * ....
—Ge YouGe YouGe You is an acclaimed Mainland Chinese actor. A native of Beijing, he is considered by many to be one of the most recognizable acting personalities in the Mainland... - Palme d'OrPalme d'OrThe Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
(nominated)
- Grand Jury Prize
- BAFTA Awards, 19951995 in film-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
- Best Film Not in the English Language
- Golden Globe Awards, 19941994 in film1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
- Best Foreign Language Film (nominated)
- Chlotrudis AwardsChlotrudis Awards 1995The 1st Annual Chlotrudis Awards were presented in March 1995 by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film.-Best Movie:The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert* Bullets Over Broadway* Little Women* Pulp Fiction...
, 19951995 in film-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
- Best Actress—Gong LiGong LiGong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
(nominated)
- Best Actress—Gong Li
See also
- Banned films in China
- Censorship in the People's Republic of ChinaCensorship in the People's Republic of ChinaCensorship in the People's Republic of China is implemented or mandated by the PRC's ruling party, the Communist Party of China . The special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau have their own legal systems and are largely self-governing, so these censorship policies do not apply...
- List of Chinese films
Further reading
- Giskin, Howard and Bettye S. Walsh. An Introduction to Chinese Culture Through the Family. SUNY Press, 2001. ISBN 0791450481, 9780791450482.
- Xiao, Zhiwei. "Reviewed work(s): The Wooden Man's Bride by Ying-Hsiang Wang; Yu Shi; Li Xudong; Huang Jianxin; Yang Zhengguang Farewell My Concubine by Feng Hsu; Chen Kaige; Lillian Lee; Wei Lu The Blue Kite by Tian Zhuangzhuang To Live by Zhang Yimou; Yu Hua; Wei Lu; Fusheng Chin; Funhong Kow; Christophe Tseng." The American Historical Review. Vol. 100, No. 4 (Oct., 1995), pp. 1212-1215
External links
- To Live at the Chinese Movie Database
- Source:Pinyin translated with CozyChinese.com