Beijing Spring movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Beijing Spring

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour 40 minutes

IN A NUTSHELL:

This important documentary films the brief window of artistic freedom and democracy movement from 1978 – 1982 following China’s brutal cultural revolution. Andy Cohen and Gaylen Ross chronicle the “Stars Art Group” that made Beijing’s short-lived “Democracy Wall” famous around the world. Throughout the film, we get to see some remarkable 16mm film shot by Stars members that was smuggled out of the People’s Republic of China.

Recording the historic protests and art exhibits was a daring young filmmaker named Chi Xiaoning. Hidden for decades, footage from these daring acts of rebellion is now featured in Beijing Spring for the first time ever.

On a personal note, I have a daughter-in-law who is Chinese. She grew up in Hong Kong. I’ve traveled all over mainland China on several speaking tours and I can honestly say that I truly love China. I’ve also been to Hong Kong a few times, which is where my daughter-in-law’s family still lives. I now have a young grandson who I want to know and honor his Chinese heritage. I’ve been trying to learn Mandarin!

What’s happening in China and Hong Kong right now is very troubling. I feel so grateful that I was able to spend so much time in China when foreigners were welcome with open arms. A friend of mine who still lives there as a foreigner says the tide is changing again there.

While on my various trips to China, I met so many amazing people. Many of them talked about the incredible historical monuments and art that were lost during the Cultural Revolution of Chairman Mao Zedong’s regime. It was heartbreaking.

The film boldly asks, “What is the relationship between art and human rights?”

THINGS I LIKED:

There is a lot of old footage from the 1960s in China. Having been to China in recent years, it’s fascinating to see what China looked like back then.
It’s very touching to see how powerful the desire for artistic expression is, as well as how resilient the human spirit is.
I loved learning about the various kinds of art that experienced secrecy and evolution during this tumultuous time: painting, literature, photography, dance, film, and even architecture. There is a powerful piece of art that shows the pillars that remain from a famous palace in China. The pillars are designed to look like humans, standing together and standing up to express themselves. The “Stars” artists did exactly that with their bold art and defiance against the status quo.
The symbolism of the group’s name “Star” is profound. Several members point out that Mao Zedong was the only star, so their light was hidden in the “day” and would only be able to shine in the dark.
I absolutely loved seeing the various art pieces that were hung on the fence outside the National Art Museum and watching footage that showed the people’s facial expressions as they reacted to them. The artists were extremely bold to hold such an untraditional exhibition. I was impressed that they had the foresight to hang a notebook where people could write their comments about the artwork, some offering immense praise, while other comments towed the party line. The artists also hung a bucket where people could offer monetary donations.
The title cards throughout the film are helpful to understand the timeline.
What’s amazing to me is all of the things that were not allowed in China at the time, such as dancing and marrying foreigners. The China I know and have personally seen is very different from that of the 1970s. In fact, square dancing is now a nightly tradition in China. It’s not the square dancing we know in the West though. People gather in the main squares and parks all over the country to dance every night. Older women learn choreographed routines that they dance in unison. Couples can be seen doing ballroom dancing together. I love that.
I was happy to see that a film about art included artistic elements in the filmmaking itself.
I was also happy to see that a film has been made about the men and women involved in this art movement in China before any of them get too old or pass away to tell their stories. It was interesting to learn where those brave men and women are now, as most of them left China so they could create their artwork freely.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The film assumes viewers know more about Chinese history than they probably do.
Not everyone likes to watch documentaries. This isn’t entertainment, but education. In order to recognize freedom, we need to see what it is not.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Kids will be entirely bored. So will some adults who aren’t interested in Chinese history or art.
Most of the film shows Chinese people speaking in Mandarin, so there are subtitles in English. Only a few of the artists who were interviewed speak English.
You see pictures of Chinese people who were tortured and killed during the Cultural Revolution
Pictures of nude art and full frontal nudity of two men.

THEMES:

China
Art
The human spirit
Revolution
Freedom
Freedom of expression
Democracy
Human expression

INTERESTING LINES:

Speaking about the revolutionary changes in art that the Stars group created, one of the artists who was interviewed stated, “They created a flourishing situation of various styles, like hundreds of different flowers blooming at the same time.”