Courage and heart - Letter from Masanjia
Oh dude, I'm a complete mess. I bought and then watched the documentary last night and about twenty minutes into it, the tears started flowing and they kept coming throughout the entire film. After it was over, with an ending that ripped my heart open even though I had already been spoiled for it, I cried for another hour.
I watched it again today and the tears are still flowing. Dude, I think the last time a show moved me that hard was Captain America and that was nothing compared to how emotionally bruised and drained I felt after watching Letter from Masanjia. I've seen other reviewers talked about how emotional they were after seeing it. Hell yeah. It shook me and left me feeling like someone stomped all over me and at the same time, completely inspired and reminded me of the humanity I've been missing for months.
I've been meaning to watch this documentary for over a year now, but wasn't ready to shell out the money to buy it. I think the universe was keeping it for me to watch now. It's been a rough year for me, since I left the North and came back to Ottawa. It's been rage and bitterness and unbelievable pettiness. Holy god, have I been petty and spiteful and resentful. I lost a lot of my humanity since I got here.
Watching this movie, seeing the courage and heart and compassion of someone who was suffering beyond anything I had suffered, it reminded me of the part of humanity that I used to treasure. It's definitely my favourite documentary. Just like when I read Watership Down and watched Spartacus and knew instantly those would be my favourite book and TV show, I have the same feeling with Letter from Masanjia.
Let's make a list of my favourites:
Favourite Book: Watership Down
Favourite English movie: Captain America
Favourite Chinese movie: Peking Opera Blues
Favourite TV Show: Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Favourite Disney movie: Hercules
Favourite Documentary: Letter from Masanjia
What do all those things have in common? BIG HEART and courageous characters. Heart and courage. I LOVE LOVE LOVE heart and courage. I've been so buried in hate and resentment and bitterness and rage that I forgotten how much I love heart and courage, how heart and courage used to move me and inspire me.
I kept chasing happiness and getting all petty and jealous and awful because I thought other people had things and were happy and I had nothing and wanted to be happy... when I forgot what really matter to me was heart and courage. None of those stories I mentioned above (except Hercules but it's Disney) were happy stories. There was a lot of suffering in most of them. A lot of them had tragic ending. It wasn't seeing happiness of the characters that made them meaningful to me. It was seeing the heart and courage of the characters. I forgotten how much that meant to me.
So thank you Letter from Masanjia for reminding me of how important heart and courage is to me. Oh man, was there was so much suffering in that documentary! I thought the torture in the labour camp was going to be the worse part, but it wasn't. It was ripping of relationships, the separation of people who loved each other so very, very much that had me sobbing. There was other hardship, too, that shook me. Throughout the suffering, the pain, though, Sun Yi was never bitter. That blows my mind, as someone who's just a bitter resentful rage-a-holic. How could he suffer so much, and yet still retain his humanity, his kindness, his amazing strength, his huge big heart?
And of course that just made the ending all the more gutwrenching.
I cannot recommend this documentary enough. I can't. It brought me back from a depth of darkness I had no idea was that deep. I didn't realized I lost so much of my humanity. It reminded me that I used to be about heart and courage, and how far away I've strayed from that, and how much I need them back in my life.
I've been saying prayers for Sun Yi and others in the film since yesterday, thanking them for reminding what is important to me, wishing them things that I can't say here because it will spoil the documentary.
You know a documentary is well done when it uncover injustice and atrocities that causes unimaginable suffering, it rips one's heart apart and makes one feel bruised and kicked all over and wishing things could be different (OMG I wanted things to be different, I never wanted anything in my life so much as I wanted things to be different for Sun Yi), but you don't leave the film feeling angered and embittered and wanting someone to pay for the suffering.
Instead, all that immense suffering revealed courage and heart that made me sob harder throughout the movie and embrace humanity again.
Wow... just... wow.
I watched it again today and the tears are still flowing. Dude, I think the last time a show moved me that hard was Captain America and that was nothing compared to how emotionally bruised and drained I felt after watching Letter from Masanjia. I've seen other reviewers talked about how emotional they were after seeing it. Hell yeah. It shook me and left me feeling like someone stomped all over me and at the same time, completely inspired and reminded me of the humanity I've been missing for months.
I've been meaning to watch this documentary for over a year now, but wasn't ready to shell out the money to buy it. I think the universe was keeping it for me to watch now. It's been a rough year for me, since I left the North and came back to Ottawa. It's been rage and bitterness and unbelievable pettiness. Holy god, have I been petty and spiteful and resentful. I lost a lot of my humanity since I got here.
Watching this movie, seeing the courage and heart and compassion of someone who was suffering beyond anything I had suffered, it reminded me of the part of humanity that I used to treasure. It's definitely my favourite documentary. Just like when I read Watership Down and watched Spartacus and knew instantly those would be my favourite book and TV show, I have the same feeling with Letter from Masanjia.
Let's make a list of my favourites:
Favourite Book: Watership Down
Favourite English movie: Captain America
Favourite Chinese movie: Peking Opera Blues
Favourite TV Show: Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Favourite Disney movie: Hercules
Favourite Documentary: Letter from Masanjia
What do all those things have in common? BIG HEART and courageous characters. Heart and courage. I LOVE LOVE LOVE heart and courage. I've been so buried in hate and resentment and bitterness and rage that I forgotten how much I love heart and courage, how heart and courage used to move me and inspire me.
I kept chasing happiness and getting all petty and jealous and awful because I thought other people had things and were happy and I had nothing and wanted to be happy... when I forgot what really matter to me was heart and courage. None of those stories I mentioned above (except Hercules but it's Disney) were happy stories. There was a lot of suffering in most of them. A lot of them had tragic ending. It wasn't seeing happiness of the characters that made them meaningful to me. It was seeing the heart and courage of the characters. I forgotten how much that meant to me.
So thank you Letter from Masanjia for reminding me of how important heart and courage is to me. Oh man, was there was so much suffering in that documentary! I thought the torture in the labour camp was going to be the worse part, but it wasn't. It was ripping of relationships, the separation of people who loved each other so very, very much that had me sobbing. There was other hardship, too, that shook me. Throughout the suffering, the pain, though, Sun Yi was never bitter. That blows my mind, as someone who's just a bitter resentful rage-a-holic. How could he suffer so much, and yet still retain his humanity, his kindness, his amazing strength, his huge big heart?
And of course that just made the ending all the more gutwrenching.
I cannot recommend this documentary enough. I can't. It brought me back from a depth of darkness I had no idea was that deep. I didn't realized I lost so much of my humanity. It reminded me that I used to be about heart and courage, and how far away I've strayed from that, and how much I need them back in my life.
I've been saying prayers for Sun Yi and others in the film since yesterday, thanking them for reminding what is important to me, wishing them things that I can't say here because it will spoil the documentary.
You know a documentary is well done when it uncover injustice and atrocities that causes unimaginable suffering, it rips one's heart apart and makes one feel bruised and kicked all over and wishing things could be different (OMG I wanted things to be different, I never wanted anything in my life so much as I wanted things to be different for Sun Yi), but you don't leave the film feeling angered and embittered and wanting someone to pay for the suffering.
Instead, all that immense suffering revealed courage and heart that made me sob harder throughout the movie and embrace humanity again.
Wow... just... wow.