Xue se qing chen
China,
1990, 103 min
Shown in 1993
CREDITS
- dir
-
Li Shaohong
- scr
-
Xiao Mao, Li Shaohong
- cam
-
Zeng Nianping
- editor
-
Zhou Xinxia
- cast
-
Kong Lin, Gong Zhaohui, Hu Yajie, Zhao Jun
- prod co
-
Beijing Film Studio
- source
-
China Film Export
-
COMMENTS
Li Shaohong in person. Her feature, Family Portrait, also showed in the 1993 Festival.
OTHER
Festivalgoers have the chance to experience two very different works by Li Shaohong, a new Chinese director. In her second feature Bloody Morning, Li transposes Chronicle of a Death Foretold to a Chinese village, stunningly capturing the letter and spirit of Gabriel García Márquez’s chilling tale of bruised machismo and bloody vengeance. Probing the murder of Mingguang, the village teacher, an investigator interviews various witnesses. From the fragments of their accounts, told in a series of flashbacks, the story emerges. Li Pingwa, a butcher whose poverty dims his marital prospects, readily accepts the deal proposed by Qiangguo, a successful entrepreneur. Pingwa agrees to swap his comely sister, Hongxing, in marriage. On their wedding night, Qiangguo bellows with rage when he suspects his new bride is not a virgin. Determined to vindicate their family’s honor and, without a shred of evidence to substantiate their suspicions, Pingwa and his brother set their vengeful gaze on Mingguang. With its maze of snow-dusted paths and smoky interiors, the village provides an ideally insular, almost claustrophobic setting. In a pointed alteration of the original, Li has made the victim a teacher. Scenes such as the joyless wedding proceedings and the villagers’ collective impotence in the final act, speak volumes about a psychology mired in tradition and ignorance. The sting in Li’s allegory proved a bit too strong—the film’s release outside China was delayed almost three years.
—Laura Thielen
FACTOID #35
The first film retrospective accompanying a tribute at the Festival was a Tribute to Warner Bros., featuring Jack L. Warner in person, October 26, 1966.
