(no subject)
Please Vote For Me, 2007. Dir. 陈为军 CHEN Weijun. Steps International.
Chen Weijun has done some incredible work, most notably the powerful To Live Is Better Than To Die (2003), about a family in an AIDS village in Henan. This short documentary is ostensibly lighter fare (and there's something reassuring about knowing the three charming kiddos vying for position of class monitor aren't going to die as you watch), but the subject - a 'democratic' election - is pretty heavy when juxtaposed against the political reality of modern China.
Well, in theory at least.
Really, this is a short, (reasonably) charming documentary - despite the third graders asking the film makers in the beginning, 'What's what? Democracy? What does that mean?', the three selected to run catch on to the game of currying political favor quite quickly. The ups, downs, underhanded tactics, and lots of boisterous kids (and their parents). And crying. Lots and lots of crying.
A nice slice of (pretty well off) life in Wuhan, Hubei. This, I think, would be useful to show in some class contexts if you could get away with it - it paints a different picture of 'Chinese life' than I think many people would expect.
Click to viewChen Weijun has done some incredible work, most notably the powerful To Live Is Better Than To Die (2003), about a family in an AIDS village in Henan. This short documentary is ostensibly lighter fare (and there's something reassuring about knowing the three charming kiddos vying for position of class monitor aren't going to die as you watch), but the subject - a 'democratic' election - is pretty heavy when juxtaposed against the political reality of modern China.
Well, in theory at least.
Really, this is a short, (reasonably) charming documentary - despite the third graders asking the film makers in the beginning, 'What's what? Democracy? What does that mean?', the three selected to run catch on to the game of currying political favor quite quickly. The ups, downs, underhanded tactics, and lots of boisterous kids (and their parents). And crying. Lots and lots of crying.
A nice slice of (pretty well off) life in Wuhan, Hubei. This, I think, would be useful to show in some class contexts if you could get away with it - it paints a different picture of 'Chinese life' than I think many people would expect.