Blind Mountain
Encyclopedia
Blind Mountain is a 2007 Chinese film
directed by Li Yang
and is Li's first feature film since his 2003 debut Blind Shaft
. It is also known as Road Home.
Like Li's previous film, Blind Shaft, which dealt with the notoriously dangerous mining industry, Blind Mountain turns a sharply critical eye towards another one of China's continuing social problems, this time selling women for marriage in modern day china.
province. Trapped in the fiercely traditional town, the young woman finds that her avenues of escape are all blocked. As she searches for allies, including a young boy, a school teacher and a mailman, she suffers from being raped by her "husband" and continued beatings at the hands of the villagers, her husband, and her husbands' parents.
before she had even graduated.
Prior to its release, Blind Mountain suffered from nearly 20 state-imposed cuts. This was done in order for the film to be allowed into the Un certain regard competition at Cannes by Chinese officials, as several of the cuts were of scenes that were critical of certain aspects of Chinese society. The Chinese Film Bureau
policy also led to Li filming several alternate versions of the film's ending including a more upbeat one specifically for a possible video or dvd release in China.
's Night Train
, Blind Mountain was one of only two Chinese films in competition in the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
, both for the Prix un certain regard. A third Chinese film, Fengming, a Chinese Memoir
by Wang Bing
was a documentary and was a "Special Screening" not in competition. Blind Mountain ultimately failed to win anything at Cannes, with the Prix un certain regard going instead to Cristian Nemescu
's California Dreamin'.
While the audience at Cannes gave a standing ovation to the film when it was screened, the critics have thus far been mixed in their reaction towards the film. Ray Bennett of The Hollywood Reporter
, for example, is generous in his praise of the film's social message and visual beauty, claiming that the Li "draws wonderful performances from a cast that includes local amateurs and professionals, including the utterly credible Huang Lu." In contrast, Derek Elley of Variety
was far more subdued in his reaction, and in particular criticizes the film's thin story and poorly drawn characters, such that "there's little emotional underpinning to the rote story." What both critics agreed was above par, however, was the photography of the Taiwanese cinematographer
Lin Jong
. Other critics expressed sentiments similar to Elley, but nevertheless found the performances effective, particularly by the lead actress. Reception was more positive with the Chinese press. Writing in Hong Kong cultural magazine, Muse
, Perry Lam observed, 'What makes this film so heartbreaking and so hard to watch sometimes is its determination to let us experience without varnish the depths of the heroine's despair and meet all the wretched characters who have a role to play in her tragedy.'
On April 19, 2008, Blind Mountain won the Film Award of the Council of Europe (FACE), which is presented at the Istanbul International Film Festival
by the Council of Europe
to a film that raises public awareness and interest in human rights
issues and promotes a better understanding of their significance.
Cinema of China
The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...
directed by Li Yang
Li Yang (director)
Li Yang is a Chinese writer-director. Though often grouped with the so-called Sixth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, he is in fact closer in age to the Fifth Generation and in interviews has denied membership with either group, claiming that such labels are only artificial differentiations.Born...
and is Li's first feature film since his 2003 debut Blind Shaft
Blind Shaft
Blind Shaft is a 2003 film about a pair of brutal con artists operating in the illegal coal mines of present-day northern China. The film was written and directed by Li Yang , and is based on Chinese writer Liu Qingbang's short novel Shen Mu .-Production history:Most of the filming took place 700...
. It is also known as Road Home.
Like Li's previous film, Blind Shaft, which dealt with the notoriously dangerous mining industry, Blind Mountain turns a sharply critical eye towards another one of China's continuing social problems, this time selling women for marriage in modern day china.
Plot
Blind Mountain follows a young woman, Bai Xuemei, in the early 1990s who recently graduated from college and attempts to find work to help pay for her brother's education. In the process, she is drugged, kidnapped and sold as a bride to a villager in the Qin Mountains of China's ShaanxiShaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
province. Trapped in the fiercely traditional town, the young woman finds that her avenues of escape are all blocked. As she searches for allies, including a young boy, a school teacher and a mailman, she suffers from being raped by her "husband" and continued beatings at the hands of the villagers, her husband, and her husbands' parents.
Cast
- Huang LuHuang LuHuang Lu is a Chinese actress. A graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, Huang debuted in director Li Yang's Blind Mountain, where she played a young college student sold into sexual slavery in a mountain village in central China....
- Bai Xuemei, the heroine, a young college student - Yang You'an - Huang Degui, a villager who purchases Bai Xuemei
- Zhang Yuling - Ding Xiuying, Huang Degui's mother
- He Yunie - Huang Decheng, a local teacher and Huang Degui's cousin
- Jia Yinggao - Huang Changyi, Huang Degui's father
- Zhang Youping- Li Qingshan, a local boy who befriends Bai Xuemei
Production history
The film was primarily funded by private, overseas Chinese donors. The cast was primarily non-professional actors with the notable exception of the lead, Huang Lu, who was cast from the Beijing Film AcademyBeijing Film Academy
Beijing Film Academy is a coeducational state-run higher education institution in Beijing, China. The film school is the largest institution specialised in the tertiary education for film and television production in Asia...
before she had even graduated.
Prior to its release, Blind Mountain suffered from nearly 20 state-imposed cuts. This was done in order for the film to be allowed into the Un certain regard competition at Cannes by Chinese officials, as several of the cuts were of scenes that were critical of certain aspects of Chinese society. The Chinese Film Bureau
State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television
The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television is an executive branch under the State Council of the People's Republic of China...
policy also led to Li filming several alternate versions of the film's ending including a more upbeat one specifically for a possible video or dvd release in China.
Reception
Along with Diao Yi'nanDiao Yi'nan
Diao Yinan is a Chinese director, screenwriter and occasional actor.-Biography:A graduate of the Central Academy of Drama in 1992, Diao has worked as a screenwriter with directors Shi Runjiu and Zhang Yang...
's Night Train
Night Train (2007 film)
Night Train is writer-director Diao Yi'nan's second feature film. Like his previous film, Uniform, Night Train takes place in Diao's home province of Shaanxi and was shot in and around Baoji....
, Blind Mountain was one of only two Chinese films in competition in the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
2007 Cannes Film Festival
The 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the sixtieth, ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights opened the festival, and Denys Arcand's The Age of Ignorance closed...
, both for the Prix un certain regard. A third Chinese film, Fengming, a Chinese Memoir
Fengming, a Chinese Memoir
Fengming, a Chinese Memoir , also known as Chronicle of a Chinese Woman, is a 2007 Chinese documentary film directed by Wang Bing...
by Wang Bing
Wang Bing (director)
Wang Bing is a Chinese director, often referred to as one of the foremost figures in documentary film-making. Wang is the founder of his own production company, Wang Bing Studios, which produces most of his films...
was a documentary and was a "Special Screening" not in competition. Blind Mountain ultimately failed to win anything at Cannes, with the Prix un certain regard going instead to Cristian Nemescu
Cristian Nemescu
Cristian Nemescu was a Romanian film director.Nemescu was born in Bucharest. He graduated from the Academy for Theater and Film in 2003. During his final year in the academy he made a short film, Story From The Third Block Entrance, that received awards at the NYU International Student Film...
's California Dreamin'.
While the audience at Cannes gave a standing ovation to the film when it was screened, the critics have thus far been mixed in their reaction towards the film. Ray Bennett of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
, for example, is generous in his praise of the film's social message and visual beauty, claiming that the Li "draws wonderful performances from a cast that includes local amateurs and professionals, including the utterly credible Huang Lu." In contrast, Derek Elley of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
was far more subdued in his reaction, and in particular criticizes the film's thin story and poorly drawn characters, such that "there's little emotional underpinning to the rote story." What both critics agreed was above par, however, was the photography of the Taiwanese cinematographer
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
Lin Jong
Lin Jong
Lin Jong is a Taiwanese-born cinematographer. Best known for his work on many of director Ang Lee's early films, Lin has gone on to serve as director of photographer with some of Mainland China's most important directors, and has also gone abroad, where he served as the cinematographer for...
. Other critics expressed sentiments similar to Elley, but nevertheless found the performances effective, particularly by the lead actress. Reception was more positive with the Chinese press. Writing in Hong Kong cultural magazine, Muse
Muse (Hong Kong Magazine)
Muse is a bilingual Hong Kong-based multimedia publisher specializing in content related to Hong Kong's art and culture scene.. Until December 2010, Muse published an award-winning monthly arts and culture magazine...
, Perry Lam observed, 'What makes this film so heartbreaking and so hard to watch sometimes is its determination to let us experience without varnish the depths of the heroine's despair and meet all the wretched characters who have a role to play in her tragedy.'
On April 19, 2008, Blind Mountain won the Film Award of the Council of Europe (FACE), which is presented at the Istanbul International Film Festival
Istanbul International Film Festival
The Istanbul International Film Festival is the first and oldest international film festival in Turkey, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts , a non-profit organisation. It is held every year in April in movie theaters in Istanbul, Turkey...
by the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
to a film that raises public awareness and interest in human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
issues and promotes a better understanding of their significance.
Awards and nominations
- 2007 International Film Festival BratislavaInternational Film Festival BratislavaThe International Film Festival Bratislava is an international film festival established in 1999 and held annually in Bratislava, Slovakia....
- Grand Prix (describing the film as "masterful")
- Special Mention of the Ecumenical Jury
Alternate version
The movie was filmed with several endings to satisfy the Chinese film censorship board. The rather short and abrupt ending that appears in the international dvd has the main character of Bai Xuemei stabbing the "husband" who forcefully married and raped her, during a personal brawl with Xuemei's father after the police leaves the village. The ending that appears on the Chinese dvd is more of a "happy" yet ironic ending when the police shows up at Bai Xuemei's house days later, drugs and fends off the husband and rescues her. At the same time, other girls who were sold into marriage in the village are also rescued but her best friend (who was also sold into marriage) suddenly decides to stay behind for her child and gets out of the police car. No one wins in this ending because Bai Xuemei's child is left without a mother and the family of her "husband" is left with no daughter-in-law. Furthermore, the ending concludes with text about the ongoing problem of human trafficking in modern day China. More than 30 cuts were required by Chinese censors for it be approved for exhibition.External links
- Blind Mountain at the Chinese Movie Database
- Blind Mountain Human Trafficking in modern China at schrift-chinesisch