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TO LIVE ****
To Live is an astonishing tale of a family living in China during the communist revolution and beyond. It really isn’t centered on what these changes of politics does to a family, but rather what strengths people who love each other have, and what they can endure.
The time is the late 1940s and Fugui (Ge You) is a gambling addict. At home he has a wife, Jiazhen (Gong Li), a young daughter, and his parents. They all see his gambling as the ruin of their family, who are landowners slowly losing what fortune that remains to Fugui’s gambling problem. Then, in one night, he loses their property, his wife and child, and all of his dignity. All of a sudden, instead of being called Master, he is selling trinkets he was able to rescue from his home before it was taken over, on the snowy streets. After time, his wife and child come back with his newborn son, who the wife teasingly names “Don’t Gamble”. Fugui has learned his lesson and has no desire to gamble again and promises his wife that he will give her the life she desires; A quiet life together.
Through the next four decades we watch all of the hardships of their lives together through some of the most tumultuous times in China’s history. I read up on this film and found out that the director (Zhang Yimou) and Gong Li were both banned from working in film for the next two years, because the Chinese government was upset at the portrayal of the brutal truth of those times in this film. They were even banned from speaking about this film. There hasn’t been very many movies made in China by Chinese about Chinese. It is only beneficial to the world at large that it is happening now and that we are allowed to see what things were really like for these people with our own eyes, through theirs.
As far as I’m concerned, this is a must-see film. It is an epic from beginning to end with exceptional direction, beautiful cinematography, and wonderful performances. I found it easy to love all the characters and when they suffer crushing setbacks, I felt like my own life was torn asunder. I could also see why people under a communist regime become so loyal to the cause. To Live, I expect, pulled no punches when showing us Mao’s totalitarian control over the way of life for millions of people, who begin to think as one. It was amazing to me when wedding ceremonies are performed; the families sing Mao’s communist theme with tears in their eyes. They worship Mao, then their God, in that order.
Fugui and Jiazhen show that life is the same regardless of what type of world you live in. One only hopes to live happily and with love. Even when there is loss there is hope. I love this movie.
TO LIVE **** To Live is an astonishing tale of a family living in China during the communist revolution and beyond. It really isn’t centered on what these changes of politics does to a family, but rather what strengths people who love each other have, and what they can endure.
The time is the late 1940s and Fugui (Ge You) is a gambling addict. At home he has a wife, Jiazhen (Gong Li), a young daughter, and his parents. They all see his gambling as the ruin of their family, who are landowners slowly losing what fortune that remains to Fugui’s gambling problem. Then, in one night, he loses their property, his wife and child, and all of his dignity. All of a sudden, instead of being called Master, he is selling trinkets he was able to rescue from his home before it was taken over, on the snowy streets. After time, his wife and child come back with his newborn son, who the wife teasingly names “Don’t Gamble”. Fugui has learned his lesson and has no desire to gamble again and promises his wife that he will give her the life she desires; A quiet life together.
Through the next four decades we watch all of the hardships of their lives together through some of the most tumultuous times in China’s history. I read up on this film and found out that the director (Zhang Yimou) and Gong Li were both banned from working in film for the next two years, because the Chinese government was upset at the portrayal of the brutal truth of those times in this film. They were even banned from speaking about this film. There hasn’t been very many movies made in China by Chinese about Chinese. It is only beneficial to the world at large that it is happening now and that we are allowed to see what things were really like for these people with our own eyes, through theirs.
As far as I’m concerned, this is a must-see film. It is an epic from beginning to end with exceptional direction, beautiful cinematography, and wonderful performances. I found it easy to love all the characters and when they suffer crushing setbacks, I felt like my own life was torn asunder. I could also see why people under a communist regime become so loyal to the cause. To Live, I expect, pulled no punches when showing us Mao’s totalitarian control over the way of life for millions of people, who begin to think as one. It was amazing to me when wedding ceremonies are performed; the families sing Mao’s communist theme with tears in their eyes. They worship Mao, then their God, in that order.
Fugui and Jiazhen show that life is the same regardless of what type of world you live in. One only hopes to live happily and with love. Even when there is loss there is hope. I love this movie.