July 31, 2014
Beginning of the Great Revival – China, 2011
Rumor has it that
when Beginning of the Great Revival
was initially released in theaters, it appeared on practically every screen in
China, making it impossible for moviegoers to see anything else. This is said
to have resulted in the film having much more impressive box office numbers
than it might otherwise have had and for claims to be made as to its quality
and mass appeal. All of this may be true, for the film is clearly cinematic propaganda,
reminiscent of such classic Russian films as Battleship Potemkin and The
End of St. Petersberg, albeit without their exquisite pacing and
groundbreaking camerawork. As for the film’s quality, well you know what they say:
Quality is in the eye of the beholder.
Like the 2009 film
The Founding of a Republic, Beginning of the Great Revival, directed
by Sanping Han and Jianxin Huang, requires an encyclopedic knowledge of both major
incidents and important individuals from Chinese history. Significant events -
sometimes even entire wars - are referred to in shorts texts that appear over
historical vignettes, and names continuously appear to the right or left of
important figures even if those figures do not play a role in anything that
follows. Miss these, as I did a few times, and you may be momentarily confused.
Also like The Founding of the Republic,
the film is not for people looking for a critical, in depth analysis of history,
specifically the events that followed Emperor Puyi’s abdication of the throne
in 1911, and it is not a film that questions the chaotic events that eventually
culminated in the creation of China’s current system of government. Rather, the
film can be seen as representing the government’s official version of events,
and as such, the film is a mild curiosity.
For the first
hour, the film’s pacing is practically insufferable. The film cuts to the next
scene too rapidly, and rarely is the significance of what we have just seen
made clear. Instead, what we see is too often just a parade of seemingly
important characters speaking vaguely about what China should and should not
be. At other moments, the film shows viewers apparently significant events, yet
does not bother to explain what was at stake during them or what was gained
from them. For example, in one scene, a character departs for Japan to seek Dr.
Sun Yat-sen’s counsel and then returns to wage war. Does this lead to Sun
Yat-sen’s return? Does the ensuing military victory have an impact on the
larger struggle? The film doesn’t say. It just moves on to the next key conflict.
The second half of
the film slows down significantly, and as a result, it is slightly more
involving. Most interesting is its portrayal of the May 4th
movement. The movement is portrayed as having begun as the result of the
actions of two teachers and been carried to fruition by students who took up
the cause and went to the streets to make their displeasure known. The students
are depicted as being both serious and dedicated to their cause, yet they are
also shown to be somewhat extreme. This is demonstrated in their disturbing
habit of writing down their grievances in their own blood and their absolutely unwillingness
to entertain alternate views. In this sense, they are like many of today’s
protesters, many of whom only align themselves with people whose viewpoints
match their own and have a hard time hearing the opposition.
In fact, the students often seem on the verge of violence, especially during scenes in which they
surround and confront professors that have publicly disagreed with their
tactics. At one point, the film shows them attacking the home of officials whom
they blame for enabling Japan to occupy Shandong, and it is unclear exactly
what they intend to do with the official and his wife if they succeed in
capturing them. During the scene, the young students plead with soldiers them
to recognize their commonality and not attack them. They insist that they
represent the entire Chinese population, and they call on the soldiers to
assist them in their efforts. Scenes like this one made me recall the
sentiments expressed at the end of
Battleship Potemkin, yet there was less of a sense of satisfaction in them,
perhaps because they do not immediately restore order and calm. This is the
beginning of the storm, not a sign of its impending conclusion.
The film also
functions as an origin of sorts for the man who would later hold the moniker chairman, Mao Zedong, played by Ye Liu.
Here, he is a young man, full of questions, discovering the plights of the
people and formulating his own political beliefs. This involves a great deal of
discussion with his change-minded professors and a lot of reading about the
rebellions and political systems of other countries. Here, his rise is more
cinematic than realistic, full of short moments of excitement and drive, but
void of any in depth exploration. Sadly, the film does not examine just what
made him so charismatic that he would emerge as leader above everyone else at
that time.
Viewers know the
conclusions that Mao, his teachers, and his fellow students ultimately come to
in advance, and many scenes in which they discuss China’s future end with
characters asking or being asked deep philosophical questions and then staring
into the camera as if contemplating ideas that are beyond words. There are too
many of these moments, and instead of creating suspense, they grow increasingly
tedious. There is also a subplot involving Mao and his courtship of the woman
he eventually married which begins promising, yet is unfortunately
underdeveloped. As portrayed in the film, they spent their time together doing
nothing more than reading and formulating new political theories. Romance was
set aside, as the film portrays it, for the betterment of the country.
The film boasts a
cast on some of the most famous actors and actresses from Hong Kong and China.
Yun-Fat Chow has a short, but memorable role as Yuan Shikai, the general who
tried as hard as he could to become emperor. Other A-list actors appear for a
few short moments and then disappear completely before you have time to
recognize them. In fact, the cast list on IMDB is a rather remarkable who’s who
of famous people, many of whom I hadn’t even realized were in the film. One
actor I did recognize, though, was Taiwanese American pop star/actor Leehom Wang, who
plays Lo Chia-lun, and his presence stirred mixed feelings in me. I can
understand Wang’s interest in expanding his fan base and ensuring his ability
to tour and make films in China, but it is an open question whether he should have
agreed to appear in this particular film.
In the end, Beginning of the Great Revival is a
version of history told at lightning speed. It is incomplete and one-sided, as
well as being rife with cliché-filled dialogue concerning the nobility of the
students’ struggles and the dishonor of those who stand in their way. The film
even ends with a rather rosy epilogue about China’s future. In short, the film
is clearly meant for a domestic audience, and it is doubtful that it will have
much appeal outside of that market. However, towards the end of the film, a
curious event happens that made me reflect upon the often ironic nature of history.
In the scene, a small group of students sit around a table and draft what is
essentially a political platform. The scene itself is as exciting as watching molasses
drop, yet it fascinates nonetheless because, you see, the students actually take a vote. Imagine that. (on DVD and
Blu-ray)
2 stars
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