The Blue Kite

Starring:Tian Yi, Wenyao Zhang, Xiaoman Chen, Liping Lu, Quanxin Pu, Xuejian Li, Baochang Guo, Ping Zhong, Quanzhong Chu, Xiaoying Song, Hong Zhang, Yanjin Liu, Bin Li, Zhang Lu, Donglin Guo, Shumin Wu, Fengyi Zhang, Min Xu, Ju Zhang, Jiali Ding
Director: Zhuangzhuang Tian
Studio: Kino Video
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

what a pathetic and miserable era
A personal portrait that embodies the state of things!
Very good film about China during 1950's and 1960's
Blue Kite?
Straw Dogs

The Blue Kite
Starring: Tian Yi , Wenyao Zhang , Xiaoman Chen , Liping Lu , and Quanxin Pu
Director: Zhuangzhuang Tian
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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To Live
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ASIN: B00007JZVS
Release Date: 2003-01-14

Customer Reviews:

what a pathetic and miserable era.......2007-06-10

in this film, we saw people got to salute to chairman mao first before doing everything. when they got the approval to get married, they got to salute to chairman mao first. but before they could have gotten married, the wedding ceremony had to be postponed, because the great spiritual guide and the greatest comrade, joseph stalin was suddenly dead. so they got to postpone the wedding 10 more days for the national mourning period. under the tight control of the chinese communist party, people were like product out of the same mode. when you looked around, slogans in big words were all over the places. loud speakers were installed every strategic place, brainwashed you day and night....
'the blue kite' was a film silently exposed the cruelty and tediousness of the chinese people during mao's era. no wonder this movie was banned later in china, the director and the production team were all punished and indicted as 'counter revolutionists', 'anti-revolutionists', one of the '5 black categories' members, 'the big poisonus grass'.
when you watch this movie, people in china under the communist party and chairman mao' control were still so polite and so happy. but after the long 10 years 'cultural revolution', chinese people were totally changed into a new species, vicious, rude, self-centered and unfriendly.
'the blue kite' not only exposed the cruelty of the unseen iron-clad hand of the chinese control party, it also showed you something that you could use it to compare with the chinese nowadays. what a big difference.

A personal portrait that embodies the state of things!.......2007-04-04

All the revolutions are like Saturn; they conclude devouring even its most beloved. In this case we have an intimate story of schoolteacher from 1954 to 1967. A woman who loses three husbands and eventually her own freedom.

Once more the powerful depiction of these brutal years are realistically conveyed into the big screen with notable crudeness and beating actuality.

An advertence for all those who firmly still believe about the human redemption.

Very good film about China during 1950's and 1960's.......2006-07-16

"The Blue Kite" is a realistic film about the lives of Chinese families in the hutong, or traditional neighborhoods in Beijing between 1953 and 1968. We get fairly good impressions as to what life was like for children and adults living in courtyard homes that are increasingly being dismantled in Beijing, replaced by modern apartments and stores. We see how families gather around in their courtyard homes to celebrate the Chinese New Year. We also see how Chinese families then, as now, are very close, gathering together during family meals, and how grandparents often helped raise their grandchildren.

This film also realistically portrays some of the terrible effects of Mao's policies on ordinary human beings in China. I highly recommend this film and "To Live" as being the two best and most realistic films as to how Mao's misguided, perverse policies affected many ordinary, completely innocent human beings, who were working hard to raise their families, enjoying relatively simple lifestyles.

The movie is primarily told from the perspective of a child, Tietou. Shujuan, his mother, in the course of the events shown in the film has three husbands. Shalong, Her first husband is falsely accused of being a Rightist in the so-called anti-Rightist campaign, instigated by Mao, during the late 1950's. People in workplaces were pressured to come up with a quota of so-called rightists, who were usually sent to labor camps in the countryside. Shaolong, during a meeting with his colleagues to decide who will be labelled a rightist to placate Communist party bosses, briefly leaves the meeting to go to the bathroom. When he returns, he discovers he has been chosen by the others as being a rightist, to be punished. Shalong is completely innocent and tragically dies from an accident in the labor camp.

Tietou has a very difficult time during his childhood, often teased by other boys and he does not get along with his mother's third husband, a high level official who lives in a large, comfortable home. This stepfather is also cruelly tormented by mobs of Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution.

"The Blue Kite" is a relatively slow film, but I highly recommend this film because of its realistic portrayal of the daily lives of Chinese people in the hutong during the 1950's and 1960's, as well as being a courageous film by Zhuangzhuang Tian, the director, in exposing how many innocent people greatly suffered because of Mao's cruel, inhumane policies. This is one of the best films ever made about social life in modern China.

Blue Kite?.......2005-09-06

It was a great movie. I just wonder how they got the verbage on the back of the packaging. You'd think the "blue kite" would play more of a central role. Never happened. But the movie, aside from the misleading description, was great.

Straw Dogs.......2005-09-03

Compared to a similar film-"To Live"--this movie never really connects the viewer to the main characters--perhaps intentionally-I'm not sure--but despite the various calamities--one really never sympathises/empathises with any of the characters. About the only emotion felt during a viewing of this movie is ambivalence--perhaps all men are straw dogs as per the Taoist's and this is an expression of that sentiment.
Basically, the story of a mother and her son from the Communist take over, through the Great Leap forward and the Cultural revolution.
Worth watching--but in my opinion significantly inferior to "To Live" But also--significantly better than some of the garbage hollywood spews out!

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