The Concrete Revolution
Duration: 01:00:00 "We are not just good at destroying the old world, but also at building the new one," announced Mao Tse-tung many years ago, and even he could not have forseen the extent to which China is fullfilling his words at the beginning of the 21st century. Most notably Peking, i...
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| Institution: | Open Society Archives at Central European University |
| Language: | Mandarin Chinese |
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Xiaolu Gao Ltd.
2004
China |
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10891/osa:a865a81f-7ebd-4d5d-871d-4cfd2b550eeb |
| Summary: | Duration: 01:00:00
"We are not just good at destroying the old world, but also at building the new one," announced Mao Tse-tung many years ago, and even he could not have forseen the extent to which China is fullfilling his words at the beginning of the 21st century. Most notably Peking, in connection with the organizing of the 2008 Olympic Games, has become one giant construction site. This symbol of the "New China" is built by hand by approximately one million laborers travelling for work mainly from the poorer villages in the countryside. A number of them have not yet received their wages after several months, while their families wait desperately for the money. All of this is part of the transformation of Peking into a modern metropolis with a Western character. Young Chinese writer and documentary filmmaker Xiaolu Gao has succeeded in creating a visually rich an imaginative film essay that conveys the character of contemporary Chinese society, whose polished appearances have been created at the expense of the suffering of the ordinary people. The film is interlaced with playfully generalized passages of the turning points in Chinese history, ironic and bitterly humorous commentary of the other side of the "Chinese miracle." A high-quality soundtrack mix by Matt Scott is also worthy of notice. |
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| Published: | 2004 |