NYFF MASTERWORKS: (RE)INVENTING CHINA

The Red Detachment of Women / Hong se niang zi jun Xie Jin, China, 1961; 115m

Screens: 9/27/09 6:00pm and 10/1/09 4:00pm

Made to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, Xie Jin’s The Red Detachment of Women is a beautiful melodramatic piece of propagandist filmmaking that goes beyond its political content to become a captivating and emotional story of a woman standing up for herself and her country.

The film tells the story of a young women and her journey from slavery and a brutal master (Nan ba tian) to the Red Army and a group of fighting women.   The outfit of women has been set up with the apparent purpose of overthrowing the very master that the young women, Wu Qionghua, escaped.   But once she is part of the army Wu has to learn to put her personal plans of vengeance aside for the larger mission of the group.   She is also reunited with the man who helped her escape from her evil master as he turns out to be the Party Secretary. Together with her comrades and the Party Secretary Wu learns the value of the collective and working together. 

Also, while it is never explicitly stated or shown in anyway, it becomes somewhat obvious that Wu and the Party Secretary are lovers or would be lovers.  What makes their interactions so amazing is that just when you expect them to declare their love for each other they instead declare their love for their cause and party.  This is both an amazing political/propagandist filmmaking and incredibly moving. It is also inspiring watching the women of the detachment take ownership of their life.  There is an incredible Communist Chinese Woman anthem that they sing and when Wu has to continue on her own after her lover’s death it is pretty moving, even in the midst of such a politically heavy handed film.

Beyond the content of The Red Detachment of Women is the look of the film, which is something in and of itself.  There are beautiful bursts of light and often sequences are book ended by shot of trees and the sky.  Also, all of the evil characters have a deliberately chalky complexion, giving the film an eerily Gothic feeling at times.  On the big screen the film shines in a way you have to truly see to believe.

If you are going to be in New York for the festival you really shouldn’t miss this. Enjoy the clip below, especially if you aren’t lucky enough to be around for the festival this year.