Umbrella (film)
Encyclopedia
Umbrella or San is a Chinese documentary film
directed by Du Haibin and released in 2007. The film documents the experiences of modern rural China, particularly five social groups: students, soldiers, tradespeople, and peasants. Du's stated goal with the film was to highlight the growing disparity between China's prosperous cities and its stagnating countryside.
, in Guangdong
province at an industrial warehouse where poorly paid workers spend hours putting together umbrellas for sale. In another part of China, in Yiwu
, Zhejiang
province, a successful farmer has become an entrepreneur, running an umbrella manufacturing business.
The film then shifts to Shanghai
, as it follows students and recent graduates who struggle to find employment in a hyper-competitive market. The students know that failure to find a job will mean a return to their rural roots.
The fourth part follows a People's Liberation Army
garrison and new recruits. The recruits all come from farms in the countryside, looking for another life.
The last part of the film takes place in Luoyang
, Henan
province. It documents an elderly peasant in a village that consists mostly of the old and infirm, as subsequent generations seek their fortunes elsewhere.
International Documentary Film Festival in 2008. It has also screened at numerous film festivals, including Asian and documentary-film focused lineups. Most notable was its premiere at the 64th Venice International Film Festival
as part of the Horizons Documentary program. It was one of three Chinese films in the program, along with Lü Yue
's documentary-drama hybrid, The Obscure, and Jia Zhangke
's Useless. Collectively, the three films were said to exemplify the "overwhelming sophistication in Chinese...documentary filmmaking."
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Du Haibin and released in 2007. The film documents the experiences of modern rural China, particularly five social groups: students, soldiers, tradespeople, and peasants. Du's stated goal with the film was to highlight the growing disparity between China's prosperous cities and its stagnating countryside.
Synopsis
Umbrella is divided into five parts, one for each social group documented. The first takes place in ZhongshanZhongshan
Zhongshan , also spelled Chungshan and historically known as Xiangshan or Siangshan, is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province in southern China. Zhongshan, one of the few cities in China with an eponymous name, is named after Dr. Sun Yat-sen who was...
, in Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
province at an industrial warehouse where poorly paid workers spend hours putting together umbrellas for sale. In another part of China, in Yiwu
Yiwu
Yiwu is a city of about 1.2 million people in central Zhejiang Province near the central eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. The city is famous for its small commodity trade and vibrant free markets and is a regional tourist destination...
, Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
province, a successful farmer has become an entrepreneur, running an umbrella manufacturing business.
The film then shifts to Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, as it follows students and recent graduates who struggle to find employment in a hyper-competitive market. The students know that failure to find a job will mean a return to their rural roots.
The fourth part follows a People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
garrison and new recruits. The recruits all come from farms in the countryside, looking for another life.
The last part of the film takes place in Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
province. It documents an elderly peasant in a village that consists mostly of the old and infirm, as subsequent generations seek their fortunes elsewhere.
Reception
Umbrella was awarded an Honorable Mention at the 30th Cinéma du RéelCinéma du Réel
Cinéma du Réel is an international documentary film festival organized by the BPI-Bibliothèque publique d'information in Paris and was founded in 1978. The festival presents about 200 films per year in several sections by experienced documentary directors as well as first timers...
International Documentary Film Festival in 2008. It has also screened at numerous film festivals, including Asian and documentary-film focused lineups. Most notable was its premiere at the 64th Venice International Film Festival
64th Venice International Film Festival
The 64th Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, opened on August 29, 2007, with Joe Wright's Atonement and closed September 8, 2007. Host of the event was Italian soubrette Ambra Angiolini. The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to American director Tim...
as part of the Horizons Documentary program. It was one of three Chinese films in the program, along with Lü Yue
Lü Yue
Lü Yue is a Chinese cinematographer and film director. Born in Tianjin, Lü is today among the most important cinematographers of recent Chinese cinema, and is particularly well known for his collaborations with director Zhang Yimou with whom he served as director of photography in three films...
's documentary-drama hybrid, The Obscure, and Jia Zhangke
Jia Zhangke
Jia Zhangke is a Chinese film director. He is generally regarded as a leading figure of the "Sixth Generation" movement of Chinese cinema, a group that also includes such figures as Wang Xiaoshuai and Zhang Yuan....
's Useless. Collectively, the three films were said to exemplify the "overwhelming sophistication in Chinese...documentary filmmaking."
External links
- Official site
- Umbrella at the Chinese Movie Database