It didn’t feel illegal, but there was certainly a chilling aura to knowing that you were viewing what one-sixth of the world was forbidden to see. A small community of thirty-nine people attended a double feature on Saturday, October 8, 2016 at 7:00PM in Angell Auditorium A to view “Three Songs of ‘Exile’: Independent Chinese Filmmakers Far from Home.” The audience, mostly comprised of older men and women of Asian descent, seemed to all be attracted together to view this film, and casual chatter filled the auditorium; most of the audience seemed to know each other as they conversed about their families and past experiences. I was the only student, and normally I would feel like an outsider in such a situation, but the audience engaged me in
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The film showed two vehicles moving on a split-screen; the top featured a beautiful scenic view of daily life in China, with people mulling about in harmony surrounded by luscious green scenery as the vehicle approached a central plaza. The bottom scene showed crowded, noisy public transportation with a beggar singing depressing songs, proving stark contrast to the beautiful scene on the top. The top scene embraces the concept of propaganda and depicts Chinese life as the government idealizes it in their films to brainwash their citizens, whereas the latter subway scene is the true representation of life. When the two vehicles converged at the center plaza, the photographer is accused of being insane because if he were to be caught, he would be surely be killed. The film ends with the beggar singing that “even death sometimes retreats,” and the screen goes black. Silence takes over the crowd and the room is completely black as the crowd sits in shock. I glanced to my neighbor who returned a silent, yet telling acknowledgement of community-driven empathy, and our heads swiveled back forward for the showing of the next film without a …show more content…
It hit hard. The film “When Night Falls,” based on real events, tracks the psychological nightmare of a mother whose son was arrested and is facing the death penalty for being framed for murdering six police officers; he was the easiest target in a murder-theft case for prosecutors so they pursued him without evidence nor investigation. The film highlights the many faults and failures of the Chinese justice system, portraying the injustice and totalitarianism of the government. For being revolutionary and not conforming to regular Chinese film practices, this director was also banished from China and told that he and his entire family would be arrested for treason if he ever tried to
The film showed two vehicles moving on a split-screen; the top featured a beautiful scenic view of daily life in China, with people mulling about in harmony surrounded by luscious green scenery as the vehicle approached a central plaza. The bottom scene showed crowded, noisy public transportation with a beggar singing depressing songs, proving stark contrast to the beautiful scene on the top. The top scene embraces the concept of propaganda and depicts Chinese life as the government idealizes it in their films to brainwash their citizens, whereas the latter subway scene is the true representation of life. When the two vehicles converged at the center plaza, the photographer is accused of being insane because if he were to be caught, he would be surely be killed. The film ends with the beggar singing that “even death sometimes retreats,” and the screen goes black. Silence takes over the crowd and the room is completely black as the crowd sits in shock. I glanced to my neighbor who returned a silent, yet telling acknowledgement of community-driven empathy, and our heads swiveled back forward for the showing of the next film without a …show more content…
It hit hard. The film “When Night Falls,” based on real events, tracks the psychological nightmare of a mother whose son was arrested and is facing the death penalty for being framed for murdering six police officers; he was the easiest target in a murder-theft case for prosecutors so they pursued him without evidence nor investigation. The film highlights the many faults and failures of the Chinese justice system, portraying the injustice and totalitarianism of the government. For being revolutionary and not conforming to regular Chinese film practices, this director was also banished from China and told that he and his entire family would be arrested for treason if he ever tried to