The Blue Kite

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treeart Z @RT18173845 Oct 6, 2026 一般，很多符号过于刻意，又没有足够的视听支撑，很多表现想克制的画面，但没有发挥出来，反而感受不到对人物和时间空间场景之间的张力。有点笨拙。很多地方话说一半，情景也是碎的居多，不连贯。 See more S R @ScottR May 9, 2023 1001 movies to see before you die. Banned in China. A sad tale about the Cultural Revolution and it points out its shortcomings and where the Chinese suffered from a typical family's perspective. Overall the film was not quite up to snuff as far as films go, but it still does well in telling its story. In particular, I was impressed by the scenes of anxiety over whether someone was good enough for Party membership, then to have it taken away and your life ruined because of hearsay was heart wrenching. It is a good reminder of where communism fell short and the freedoms lost. It was on youtube. See more steve c @RT19610513 Oct 15, 2022 But I thought Communism was supposed to eliminate poverty. Looks like the only people prospering are all the fat cats at the top. So what makes it any different from capitalism? Damn it all to hell. See more william d @acsdoug Jul 10, 2022 By all accounts the Chinese Communist Party's policies in the 50s and 60s were much worse than depicted here. The film should have gone further. However, the fact that this movie was made at all is somewhat amazing, and it does give the viewer some idea of what happened. See more William L @RT77267842 Oct 24, 2021 A well-designed depiction of the changes in midcentury China told through the experiences of a single family, Tian Zhuangzhuang's The Blue Kite is not particularly inventive, despondent, or overpowering, but it was (and remains) plenty subversive in the director's native country. Depicting the personal struggles of a family suffering as a result of the poorly conceived initiatives of the Chairman Mao era, the government even in the '90s saw this retrospective as a threat to the national consciousness; recognizing poor leadership and the negative effects of a cult of personality was still not an accepted practice, and today you would still be hard-pressed to find a filmmaker that would make a bleak nonfiction account of China's turbulent history without a government representative making sure that the themes weren't too threatening. Instead, it's been easier to market Jet Li (et al.) beating up a revolving door of foreign invaders during the 'Century of Humiliation' than to accept that domestic shortcomings existed. Good set design, great costuming, and solid performances bring The Blue Kite up from just a geopolitically relevant drama. While most of the characters are what you might expect from protagonists - unassuming and well-intentioned, and thus easy to root for - the film does a good job making them seem empathetic and appropriately tragic. The scenes of childhood in the region and era would get a much more subtle treatment among some of Tian's Taiwanese contemporaries, but The Blue Kite largely accomplishes what it sets out to do. More revealing than the film itself, is how strong the domestic backlash to it has been. (3.5/5) See more Wayne K @WayneKelso Mar 15, 2020 Banned on release, and placing the director in hot water for a decade, The Blue Kite is still one of the most impactful films ever to come out of China; not necessarily for its overall quality, but more for its commentary and social themes. It's set at a pivotal time in Chinese history, with political upheaval both dividing and unifying the county. Its story is told through human drama and a fair amount of symbolism, especially the titular kite, which, much like Charles Kane's sled Rosebud, is a symbol of happier, more innocent times. As good as the adult acting is, I thought the child actors were even better. It's rare that kids in movies give truly compelling, realistic performances. When our lead is a toddler, he stumbles over his lines and frequently hesitates. It seems like a minor thing, but its exactly what you'd expect from a very young individual, and I loved touches like that. At 2 hours and 20 minutes the film feels longer than necessary, and some sections could have been trimmed. Not a film you'd watch regularly, but still a very illuminating window into a country being torn apart, and how the bonds of family are about the only things that can hold it together. See more Read all reviews

The Blue Kite

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