Shoot for the Contents
Reflecting on Mao's famous saying, 'Let a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend', this film – the title of which refers in part to a Chinese guessing game – is a unique excursion into the maze of allegorical naming and story telling in China. The film ponders questions of power and change, politics and culture, as refracted by Tiananmen Square events of 1990. It offers at the same time an inquiry into the creative process of film making, intricately layering Chinese popular songs and classical music, the sayings of Mao and Confucius, women's voices and the words of artists, philosophers and other cultural workers. Video images emulate the gestures of calligraphy and contrast with film footage of rural China and stylised interviews. Like traditional Chinese opera, Trinh's film unfolds through 'bold omissions and minute depictions' to render 'the real in the illusory and the illusory in the real.' Exploring colour, rhythm and the changing relationship between ear and eye, this meditative documentary realises on screen the shifts of interpretation in contemporary Chinese culture and politics.
Description Source: Cinenova Catalogue (1994). Edited by Kate Norrish. Editorial committee: Elaine Burrows, Liane Harris, Helen de Witt