The Blue Kite (1993) User Reviews

somber, depressing and well-made

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 29 November 2005]

Due to the subject matter, it was impossible to make this a happy movie. The counter-revolutions that followed the ascendancy of the Chinese Communist government were brutal and senseless--destructive just for the sake of being destructive. So naturally, this isn't a "feel good" movie. I liked how honest the movie was in giving a no holds barred look at this period of time--stretching from about 1953 to 1968.

The negatives about the movie really depend on your frame of reference. For the Chinese audience, much of what was occurring on screen would be easy to follow and keeping track of who is who isn't a problem. However, for Western audiences, this can be quite a chore. I had an easier time than most because I am a history teacher and was acquainted with what was occurring--but the average viewer will most likely get lost from time to time. And, unfortunately, MOST Chinese haven't even gotten the chance to view it as it was banned by their government when it premiered in the early 1990s! So, apart from those Chinese people living in Taiwan or elsewhere abroad, the audience may be rather limited. Because of this, I would love to see the movie along with a documentary explaining the time and events--especially because ignorance about this traumatic time is partly due to the Chinese government's attempts in the past to hide the counter-revolution's excesses.

FYI--although NOT made clear in the movie, the scene where the people were out killing sparrows needs some explanation. Chairman Mao ordered EVERYONE across the nation to beat drums and make a huge racket in order to terrify the birds and keep them flying until they exhausted themselves to death. Perhaps billions of these birds were killed in an attempt to increase crop production (aparently the birds were "capitalist reactionaries" or at least enemies of the state). However, the little grain the birds consumed was NOT a real problem but the insects that the birds ate were. So, as a result of the destruction of the birds, bug populations SKYROCKETED and the crops were decimated. That is why several scenes later people are complaining that there were 3 years of famine.

Also, it seemed to me that it was implied that the reason the one lady quit the army (where she was an actress for propaganda plays) was because she was expected to "put out" for officers. She chose to quit instead and shortly afterwards she was sent to a "re-education camp" as punishment for this.

Good history lesson

[billcr12 · 8/10 · 10 May 2012]

Beijing of the 1950s, as seen through the eyes of Tietou, a little boy. As a child, his father gives him a blue kite. The events of the day sweep the family into chaos, including the father, Lin, who becomes entangled in political intrigue with Mao's communists and winds up in a work camp. Hedies soon afterwords by a falling tree.

Tietou's widowed mother marries her dead husband's former colleague, Li, who tries his best to improve his wife and stepsons lives. The Great Leap Forward occurs and the wave of starvation claims Li as a victim.

The third husband is a party member with a relatively luxurious home at the time of the cultural revolution in China and they get caught up in the terrible violence of the Red Guard and I'll just say that no one lives happily ever after. The Blue Kite is a brutally honest look at China's interesting recent history; a sad but true tale.

Another brilliant movie from mainland China

[fubar-2 · 9/10 · 16 April 1999]

This brilliant film should be seen by anyone who appreciates great movie-making. Covering similar ground as 'Farewell, My Concubine', this time the story of China's political upheavals is told from the point of view of a simple family trying desperately to survive, as told from the point of view of the son. Lu Liping is amazing as the mother. A performance worthy of her contemporary Gong Li. Give me any of these performances over the theatrical machinations of a Meryl Streep or a Glenn Close any day. This is real acting at its finest. One warning: the ending will rip your heart out.

A Powerful and Involving Film

[howard.schumann · 2 December 2002]

" The stories in the film are real, and they are related with total sincerity. What worries me is that it is precisely a fear of reality and sincerity that has led to the ban on such stories being told." - Tian Zhuangzhuang

The Blue Kite, a beautiful and courageous 1993 film by Tian Zhuangzhuang, describes the ups and downs in the lives of a young Chinese family from the early 1950's through the Cultural Revolution of 1966. The film, which has not been seen in China, deals with the social upheavals caused by the Rectification Movement, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution, three events in recent Chinese history whose effects for good or ill are still being debated. Narrated by their rambunctious young son Tietou ("Iron Horse"), this is a political film about ideological excess, but it is also about the strength of family and the love of a mother for her son. Tietou, played by three different actors (Yi Tian, Zhang Wenyao, and Chen Xiaoman), tells how the swirling tide of political events caused uncertainty and disillusionment among the villagers.

Tietou's mother, Shujuan, brilliantly portrayed by Lu Liping, is a tower of strength who must care for her son while coping with the sudden death of three husbands, indirectly due to the political turmoil. As the film begins, the drafting of citizens for manual labor is shown as part of the party's Rectification Movement, publicized through the mass media as an effort to remove "bourgeois" influences from professional workers. Shujuan's first husband, Shaolong (Pu Quanxin) falls out of favor with the Rectification Committee for his views (and because he has to go to the bathroom at an inopportune time). He is sent to a labor camp where he is accidentally killed by a falling tree. Her second husband, Uncle Li (Xuejian Li), dies of liver disease after confessing his role in reporting Shaolong and sending him to the labor camp. Shujuan then accepts marriage from a quiet intellectual named Lao Wu (Baochang Guo).

During this time (1966-69), high school students, known as the Red Guard or hong wei bing militants, were organized to promote revolutionary enthusiasm and political purity by turning against "outdated" values taught by the teachers in their schools. They soon spread from the classrooms and became roving gangs, closing shops and schools and parading errant professors through the streets. Tian depicts the excesses of the Red Guard in bullying and beating those whom they deemed to lack "political purity". For example, Lao is denounced as reactionary by the Cultural Revolution and is arrested and beaten by Red Guards. Some claim that actual physical violence never occurred during this period. What is certain, however, is that the campaign led to the emergence of factions that believed they had the right to impose their beliefs on others.

The Blue Kite is a powerful and involving film that says much about how ideological self-righteousness can undermine the things that are most precious -- a mother's love for her son, the strength and resilience of the family, and the right to speak our minds without fear of repression. The enduring values represented by the symbol of the blue kite are contrasted with the red banners and their changing political message. When the kite is caught in a tree, Tietou's father promises him, "I can make another for you"; by the end, Tietou makes a similar promise to a small child. And so it goes.

An excellent overview of three terrible episodes in China's tragic 20th century nightmare

[IRG63 · 10/10 · 21 December 2007]

Superbly put together, this film gives an accurate portrayal of events during three revolutionary movements which make up some of the most appalling events that took place during the first thirty years of the People's Republic of China's existence.

Orocolorado's comments are tedious and naive; they betray a complete lack of understanding of what these periods of Chinese history were about, and what people living through those terrible times experienced and how they had to learn to cope with their circumstances.

It is a shame that these days we have been fed such a vast amount of exaggerated Hollywood material, that only that which is larger than life can be seen to be a true representation of anything.

The Blue Kite sneaks up on a viewer with how powerful it is.

[khanbaliq2 · 9/10 · 1 May 2010]

Director Tian Zhuangzhuang combines lucidity of vision with a novelistic richness and complexity of narrative. In a story based on the director's own memories, a young boy recounts his family history over two decades, his mother's multiple marriages and the political turmoil of those times.

Banned by the authorities in China, the story traces the devastating effects of Mao Zedong's era, particularly the Cultural Revolution, has on ordinary Chinese lives. It combines a sharp sense of anger at the seemingly arbitrary political upheavals, and sorrowful sympathy for lives that are wasted or ruined.

A dissident perspective of China

[eabakkum · 6/10 · 16 May 2011]

The film The Blue Kite is a typical example of the informal censorship of alternative opinions in our modern liberal societies (especially with regard to the competing bolshevist and Islamic societies). Remember that until the seventies the liberal governments prohibited the travel to China. Films and books in favor of those alternative ideologies are (in general) not strictly forbidden, but nevertheless they are not readily available - except for the products of dissidents. The suppression of the diversity of speech proceeds in two stages: at first, the liberal media (press, TV, which monopolize the news) glorify liberalism and give a distorted view of alternative ideologies. Then, after the public is made prejudiced, there is no commercial market for the distribution of the alternative films etc. It goes without saying that the distributors themselves are not particularly eager to sell those antagonistic views. The Blue Kite shows a dissident perspective of China, and thus is highly acclaimed by the liberal lobby. However, in The Blue Kite the critique of Maoism is too one-sided, and it actually backfires. We see the life of small town folks during the rectification movement, the great leap forward and the cultural revolution. Examples of scenes? One of the main characters is present in a meeting of workers that has to identify subversive colleagues. The chairman strives to reach his quota of subversive elements. So, when our main character visits the lavatory, he is quickly labeled subversive and sent to a labor camp. Another scene: a female soldier refuses to return the advances of high party officials and is subsequently sentenced to a long imprisonment. The film is a string of wrong-doings, which were probably fairly common at the time. But still they are incidents, which could have happened equally well here in the Netherlands. This leaves the viewer with the feeling, that The Blue Kite is actually trying to split hairs. I found the critical Chinese film To Live much more humane and credible. An objective judgment should probably call Maoism a twisted ideology, but admit that there are worse alternatives. It should be remembered that a century ago China had been invaded and ravaged by western imperialist powers, and subsequently Japan continued this terrorist intervention. After WWII there was the civil war with the nationalists, which may perhaps be called a peasants revolution. Although it included a restructuring into collectivity, this can definitely not be called a socialist reform. The Chinese economy was and is based on primitive agriculture, with regularly returning threats of famine. Maoism offered a solution, and erected basis health care and educational provisions. In addition it had to reconcile with the former opposition and handle sabotage. The life expectancy under Maoism was always longer than in the democratic India. In fact the cultural revolution is an intriguing phenomenon. A primary aim was to strengthen the bond between the common people and the intelligentsia. Here in Europe this generated admirable examples of self-sacrifice, like a student movement into the factories and working-class quarters, albeit only on a sectarian scale. In the very poor China it was a waste of scarce expertise and efficient labor division. It is estimated that over three million people were killed during the Cultural Revolution, which nearly transformed into another civil war. On the other hand, the equivalent in Afghanistan would be hundred thousand killed, which is approximately the factual score due to the Afghan revolution led by Nato. Therefore most Chinese people can still appreciate Mao. And frankly speaking, I can not recommend The Blue Kite, except perhaps for its portrayal of Chinese village life. I am still waiting for the release in our society of the load of Chinese films with a sympathetic message about Maoism.

As Good as The Horse Thief - Blue Kite

[arthur_tafero · 8/10 · 25 August 2019]

This film is up there with the best of them; equal to The Horse Thief and the King of Masks , my other two favorite Chinese films. These films are generally superior to Hollywood films in every respect except bod office receipts; and that is an important exception. Movies are generally made for money, and this one did not make a lot of money. You can pretty much mark that up to massive Western ignorance of good Chinese cinema. Very few, if any, films about China illustrate the initiation of collectivism in the early days of the CCP. Then, without effort, the film glides to the elimination of private property and businesses, and then on to Hundred Flowers Campaign, which, to put it in simple terms for uninitiated Westerners, is like someone asking you for your honest opinion, and then putting you in jail after you give it. People who differed with the CCP during this period were known as rightests and counter-revolutionaries. In reality, the vast majority of people who rendered opinions, were merely rendering their opinions. For this, they were sent to work farms, prisons, and other places far away from home. This impacted on the most sacred part of Chinese tradition; the family. Unbelievably, the upheaval got worse with the Great Leap Forward, which was more like a great leap up and down without going anywhere. Needlessly killing sparrows for some obscure reason, and tryin to make steel from ordinary household items that contained only fragments of iron. It was as if an idiot was in charge of the country giving idiotic orders. After 20 years of chaos and labeling people things they were not even remotely guilty of, things actually got worse; The Cultural Revolution caused three times as many deaths as the Jewish Holocaust in Europe, yet, in the West, only one of a hundred Westerners knows anything about it. What could be worse than stating that schools and books were useless? Leaving young gangs roving the streets to commit horrendous crimes. Replacing all parts of society's leaders with inexperienced youth. Brilliant. Hospitals struggling with doctors and nurses and replacing them with clueless students, who allowed millions to die because they didnt know what to do. No education, health care or business was tolerated. Brilliant. All this ended with Deng Xiaopeng in 1978, and now you know why he ran over the students in Tiananmen Square in 1989. No more Cultural Revolutions would be tolerated in China. No more student takeovers. China had learned its lesson, but the West condemned Tiananmen Square because they were totally ignorant of Chinese History. The film shows all of these events up to 1968, and does it with the greatest of ease. Great directing and cast.

long and confusing

[orocolorado · 6/10 · 18 February 2007]

If this movie is banned in China and considered daring imagine what one told by an unsympathetic non communist would be like. For the fact is that all the characters in this film appear to be more or less kowtowing to the communists or aspiring party members themselves. One of the harshest things you hear is an old woman who wonders if there has been enough revolution. In fact it has the feel of a communist propaganda movie with eager smiling people who never complain. Various sources estimate that between 15 to 40 million people starved during the great leap forward...you would not get that impression from this film. I want to see what the real truth and tragedy were like. This is just a pale start.

A great movie with a great actress

[barker79 · 10/10 · 2 January 2001]

This movie is great. It ends a bit abruptly but it is still a great movie. It sums up the way of life in China up until that part in a very poignant touching way without overdramatizing. I give it a ten. The sad part is that it was banned in china, only for telling the truth.

Using movies to teach

[BeckyLadakh · 6/10 · 10 November 2009]

I use movies for teaching, i.e. I show movies from different parts of the world to my students in a remote rural part of India. Last year I showed the Blue Kite but found it was a bit too slow moving and unrelentingly grim. Then I showed To Live, which covers a similar part of history in a similar plot, and found it much easier to watch. I'm not saying that this movie is not great, just that for teenagers, the Blue Kite is a bit too slow.

With both of these movies I think it is essential to know background information about the periods of history covered. The things that were done in China of those decades are so hard to believe and fathom. If you are interested in China of the 20th century, this movie is essential.

A sensitive subject that touched the nerve of the regime

[zzmale · 10/10 · 21 November 2003]

and consequently, this movie was banned in its homeland. The director has always being the master of contemporary critic, and from his cautious beginning of subtle approach of masking the problems under similar circumstance in earlier history, finally matured into directly confronting the problem. Unfortunately, such bold approach is not tolerated by the regime and the film met its sad fate which is inevitable.

There are obstacles to overcome to appreciate this

[bandw · 7/10 · 14 February 2008]

This is the story of Tietou, a boy born in Beijing in 1953. It follows him and his family through the turbulent times in China until Tietou is fifteen. The story plays against the political background of The Rectification Movement, The Great Leap Forward and the beginnings of The Cultural Revolution.

The movie stays closely focused on the family and how it is affected by the political whims of the times. Lacking a knowledge of Chinese history I was often confused by what was happening to family members. The great strength of the movie in focusing on the relationship between Tietou and his mother, and their courage in facing hard times, was also for me a weakness, since I did not understand the political forces behind what was precipitating the events driving their lives. What seemed like safe behavior at one time was deemed as cause for arrest at others. This may have been one of the points being made, but I did not understand the underlying reasons.

Another problem I had was reading the subtitles. If you are not a speed reader, they will often fly by faster than you can read. Many of them stayed on the screen for less than half a second (I counted the frames). Many times I found myself pausing the DVD so I could back it up to read the subtitles. These disruptions obviously diminished my enjoyment of the film.

All that being said, the movie is nicely filmed with a pacing and score that are quite effective. Many scenes linger on everyday details and are punctuated with subtle music. The historical context that does filter through is of interest.

If I spoke Chinese and knew more of the history of that country, I think I would have appreciated this film much more.

The Blue Kite

[jboothmillard · 5/10 · 14 July 2018]

I recalled the title of this Chinese appearing in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, it had good critics reviews, and it did well at film festivals, so it was hoping for something good, directed by Zhuangzhuang Tian (The Horse Thief). Basically story is told from the perspective of a young boy, Tietou (Tian Yi) (his name literally means "iron head") growing up in the 1950s and 1960s in Beijing. Chen Shujuan (Liping Lü) and Lin Shaolong (Cunxin Pu) married in 1953 on Dry Well Lane, their son Tietou was born a year later. During the Hundred Flowers Campaign, Shaolong creates a blue kite for his son (Wenyao Zhang), a symbol that will remain throughout as a sign of better days, he dies in a reform camp. During the Great Leap Forward, close family friend Uncle Li Guodong (Xuejian Li), who protects Shujuan and her son partly out of guilt for lying to authorities about Shaolong, succumbs to malnutrition. During the Cultural Revolution, teenage Tietou (Xiaoman Chen) moves in with Lao Wu, his Stepfather (Guo Baochang), Tietou's mother being dragged away by Red Guards, and the stepfather dies from heart failure, the fate of Tietou is left unknown. Also starring Ping Zong as Chen Shusheng, Xiaoying Song as Sis, Yanjin Liu as Shujuan's mother and Bin Li as Granny. The story is essentially how careers, romances, friendships and rivalries are affected by momentous political and historical events, based on the memories of the director, only the blue kite flying seem to be the happy moments, this film was banned by the Chinese authorities, the betrayals and brutalities are convincing, I remember some family argument scenes, it was a little slow at times, but it is an interesting drama. Worth watching!

Soaring Hopes and Dreams

[QueenofBean · 19 October 2003]

This film is right up there in educating the masses on a bold, but chilling truth. The first time I saw this movie it not only made me cry, but it haunted me for weeks. Exposing the truth has been a difficult endeavor when it comes to China, but this is one of those films that has done it with grace and style.

Excellent Movie

[phosgene7 · 10/10 · 18 November 2006]

As you knew about the fate of this movie in the motherland, I can get DVD or tape from rent store even from illegal DVD seller. It seems that we can do nothing at this kind of circumstance. But director told the predominant story and outstanding mother in that special years. It just like that children's song has been sung again and again in the movie. I wondered how all those actors and actresses who acted as Hong Wei Bing (Young guard soldiers) thought during made this movie. Actually they didn't go through this kind of special history. they just got limited information from books. And I believed that all these limited information can not let them understood fully it. probably these stuffs have not covered everything. But i appreciated that director is bold to tell people what's happening. When people can face their history and mistake they made, I believed that nation of those people will be stronger and stronger you never imagined.

Chinese people should watch this

[mikmarak · 10/10 · 25 February 2020]

More people should watch this movie, especially the Chinese, to get an idea about how the Chinese communist party took away people's freedom and dignity one step at a time, and also to get an idea on how it could happen to any nation not careful enough to learn from history. Visually a very simple movie, yet it has a powerful and relevant message for everyone.

interesting movie on a subject matter I didn't know anything about

[h1cheng · 9/10 · 1 October 2006]

I would like to say to the history professor that whether it is hard to keep track of the people doesn't depend if you're Chinese...there are subtitles... and that Chinese people can see it, because you can buy the DVD of it in China, this one girl in my class did.

My professor said that the blue kite represents the boy's hopes and dreams of a future and that China Commi is represented by the tree it gets caught in. We considered why Farewell my Concubine and To Live were not banned yet this was. Because those were pretty racy. But Blue Kite has this ambiguous ending, where you doubt if things are going to be okay, so that makes every thing look really bad. Other movies, even if the commies look awful, at least the movie is on their side and celebrates them.

I can't stop thinking it might not be true, but...

[beejames · 11 April 2003]

According to some sort of reason, I didn't know this movie until these days. After watching it, I cannot stop thinking this might not be true, but I know it is a real story. Or I'd rather say "they are real" because this kind of story almost happened in every Chinese family.It might be fortunate that I'v got a complete family, but I can imagine what would happen if they, my parents, were not so lucky.

Everything in the story are as real as they might be. To stigmatize and to be stigmatized, to live and to die, to resist and to be resisted, to beat and to be beaten while life was still going on. Attacking the rightists, perish the four vermins, big lunge, making steel, disasters of 3 years... all these things were filled in the daily conversations of Chinese nowadays.

but I don't think we'v paid enough attention to this period of Chinese history. Especially young people do not even know it. This movie is still forbidden in China. Willing to see its public show.

Important take on History.

[saymonja-148-363330 · 13 October 2011]

I had to add a review of this movie, mainly because of certain reviewers choosing to criticize the politics instead of the actual film. To all of you budding western Mao-apologists...before you debate the merits of this story and the veracity of its presentation of life, you should consider learning Chinese, going to China, and talking to people. You will learn two things: 1)this period of time was hidden from an entire generation and is only now being discussed, re-examined and virtually condemned by China. 2)The culture of fear, paranoia and brutality among ordinary citizens is very real and its memory, and vestiges of it, still exist in those old enough to remember that era. Understanding this film is key to understanding the century of virtual trauma that China underwent, at the hands of others and then at the hands of its corrupt, megalomaniacal leaders and even its own people. And if one finds the tone a bit dark, remember: at the time of this film, the Tianamen square crackdown (that still is largely unknown in China...none of my college or high school students had ever heard about it...) was only 4 years old. China today is full of hope and looking forward, but still afraid to speak about the past.