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Essence of ‘To Live’
Historical accuracy and sensitivity is one of the most important aspects that weigh heavily on the film To Live (1994), which is directed by Zhang Yimou. From a viewer’s point of view, the film is an interesting event-raveling depiction of what occurred half a century or so ago in China. This put the sequence of events into an epoch when the country was under what can be said to be a transformation characterized by a series of both political and social changes. By then, China was run by the political regime headed by Mao Zedong and this period appeared to be one of the most unrestrained times of revolution. Through its ability to capture the attention of the viewer using a true story based plot, it provides insights into some of the events that occurred before and after the World War II. In a pattern of twisted and suspended events, the film attempts to incorporate some of the most essential historical occurrences of the time while drawing comparisons to the reality of life. In reality, a lot of the comparisons make considerable sense especially with a reflection of the tragic and turbulent events in the history of China. This film adopts a strange approach through its tendency to address both the historical and political grievances in a rather abstract way. Through a review of the film, this paper attempts to underline its historical resonance in reality.
The Story
‘To Live’ is a story that follows the journey of single family's struggles and challenges that afflict them through four decades. In essence, Zhang Yimou seems to be critiquing the political events that are advanced during the struggle of populism. However, the film is neither a straightforward criticism of the government of the day nor a structured sequence of satire. Rather, it outlines through creative symbolism the struggles of the ordinary citizens by turning the mantle to the actors. The principal character and the fine-boned Fugui is used to draw a lot of symbolism to some of the most controversial ways of life that the Chinese people were compelled to adopt. Fagui is a young man initially doing well and with a burning talent for puppetry. Over the course of time, Fagui develops a serious gambling problem due to his difficulty to live within his means. His gambling problems keep increasing, and this does not auger well with his wife Gong Li. Gong Li is resilient and attempts to help her husband to no avail and in the end Fagui loses all their property. As though to lay the way towards poverty, all these occur just in time for the World War II. Subsequently, the family struggles with the drop in status over the preceding years drawing comparisons to what most citizens went through. Fugui and his family are compelled to use their best survival instincts to keep going. Fagui eventually joins the Nationalist and subsequently the Red army family which further defines more tragedies.
Historical Accuracies and Credit
Many scholars in the field of history and film have advanced varied opinion on the film ‘To Live’. The film is considered to be among the most controversial movies of the past two decades. Both the content and the relevance to the reality of life in China at the time create controversy. The movie is actually banned in China. However, it is the historical relevance of the film that is of interest at this instance. Of course, the film has some truly revealing events that tell viewers about the history of China during that period and some of the important historical happenings. Zhang Yimou must take credit for a depiction of part of the Chinese history in an innovative and interesting work. One important element that the film outlines in an exemplary way is the occurrence of the Communist revolution that hit the entire Asian continent like a wave disrupting the keel of life for many families. It is during this exact time that Fagui’s family is interrupted by the events of the war towards the commencement of World War II.
In addition, the film provides important exposure to the occasions that resulted to the Tiananmen Square massacre. Both of these historical events are accurately reflected in the film and provide important revelations to their contributions in the struggles of Chinese citizens. Most importantly, the war and the political persecutions towards the buildup of war in the 1940s are used accurately to show how citizens striving to live decently were in denied this right.
The well-balanced historical positioning of the Cultural Revolution around 1966 was used to underline the fact that it is difficult to live normally in an environment that is politically disturbed. Most of the Chinese citizens were caught up in such a circumstance in the mid of the twentieth century. This is correctly identified as the time during which the chaotic changes in China transformed the country. The film further attempts to present the three turbulent decades of life during the mid-twentieth century in China in a very accurate manner. The events of the Communist Revolution and its aftermath are reasonably well balanced historically. The lives of Fagui and his family in struggle through this period resonate with the lives of many other Chinese citizens at the time; considering that no matter how bleak the circumstances appear, the only and the best choice is always to go on. The film uses the events of the revolution in a mixture of wild rebelliousness to the authorities and a deep sense of cautiousness reflecting both the tears and laughter that engulfed China during the time.
Historical Inaccuracies and Critique
Mao Zedong and the Communist Party
Zhang Yimou was keen to address many of the events that occurred in the four decades of revolution in China. A lot of these events as symbolized by his characters in To Live represent the true nature of life that transpired in the country. In the grand scheme of events, the overall political mood in the country at that time was that the authorities in power failed to control the nation and to steer it towards the right direction. However, several accounts of the film misrepresent the historical perception of the people during that time. For one, Mao Zedong became a very popular leader in China. His rise to power was characterized by the existence of a loyal base of supporters. China is a nation that grew under the political ideologies of communist leadership. Part of the society benefitted briefly from his policies. For instance, during the ‘Great leap forward’, Mao introduced an extended form of communism through mobilization of labor with the view of improving agricultural and industrial output.
Some of Mao’s policies became effective in the rise of China in the years that followed. As a result, part of the society was attracted to the development though it was short-lived. Many are reasons cited as a reason for banning the film in China relates to its failure to reflect this perception in society. Some scholars advance this opinion citing Zang’s failure to focus on the substance of the matter; the afflictions of the Chinese society. Instead, To Live adopts a controversial approach overemphasizing political issues. Of course, Mao Zedong was not a completely loved leader but to concentrate the entire theme on the leader and his party is viewed as a major inaccuracy. Steven Mosher is one scholar of the Chinese history with a perception of large-scale inaccuracies of China. He criticizes Zhang’s film for his wide-spread condemning of Mao Zedong and the communist party. In essence, he argues that the ideals of the party could not have been all wrong. As a result, it is a largely agreed notion that To Live as a historical piece of work exaggerates the events that occurred in the country especially about politics during the period of setting.
The Communist Civil War and the Great Leap Forward
The depiction of the Communist Civil War and the Great Leap Forward is another depiction of inaccuracy in To Live. Events that occurred during the communist war in history and the subsequent Great leap forward of 1958 produce controversial views. While a lot of events during the war are depicted accurately, most scholars of the Chinese history underline inaccuracy in the depiction of the famine and the great leap. The film accurately shows the events of persecution following the extended period of political instability in the nation that rendered the ruling government under threat of a coup. However, the years that followed 1950 are mainly observed as a period during which China completely veered from the road of stability and political harmony towards extended social disruptions. It is also after this period that China finally found its feet to move on with an element of social stability and development.
One major inaccuracy here is the way in which the film presents the lives of ordinary people during this time in 1958. For large parts of the film, people are presented in a disconnected way from socio-political arena and miserable condition. However, at no point does the film depict the great famine that occurred throughout the country. Most other films depicting the Chinese history depict the great famine as an important period. In one scene of To Live Fagui’s son is making a joke with a child from the neighborhood. In his joke, he produces a lot of food that was meant to be provided to the fairytale family. The food is however wasted at the end leading to the notion that the family after all had food in abundance. This misrepresentation leads to a wide perception that Zhang failed to reflect an important part of the Chinese history.
Conclusion
Zhang Yimou produced a great piece of work in history. The film To Live is both insightful as it is historically controversial. The film helps viewers and learners of Chinese history to have an understanding of the historical events that occurred during important periods. These periods include the Communist Revolution of 1949, the 1958 Great Leap Forward, and the 1966 Cultural Revolution. It puts various historical aspects into perspective. While the film has received substantial critique, it is abundantly clear that it provided an important diversion to the way people viewed the history of China. By observing the turbulent history of China, one will agree with Zhang Yimou that the interpretation about Chinese society as in To Live was not altogether out of line. People were enveloped in various difficulties throughout the country due to a marked lack of freedom and genuine commitment by authorities to solve problems. It is only this emphasis on political events that leads to the film’s host of problems ranging from historical inaccuracy to political misrepresentation concerns. In conclusion, the film has an important critical resemblance to the real events of China at the time. It is there justified to say that Zhang Yimou’s film, To Live was by far historically accurate, but largely insensitive to the realm of politics and culture. The timing of the film puts it in a controversial position in political terms as various events raise eyebrows.
Bibliography
Frank Dikötter. Mao’s Great Famine: The History of China’s most devastating catastrophe,
1958-62. Retrieved 19th November 2014. from http://chinaperspectives.revues.org/5585
Maurice, Meisner. Mao’s China and After: A History of the people’s republic. 3rd ed. NY: Free
Press, 1999.
Steven, W. M. China Misperceived: American Illusions and Chinese Reality. NY: Basic Books,
1992.
