A New Old Play

Qiu Jiongjiong's film begins with the death of Qiu Fu, the best-known clown actor of twentieth-century Sichuan opera. Two officials of the underworld escort him toward the Ghost City; along the way he meets old friends, and the past they recall becomes the history of China in the twentieth century. The film was shot entirely in the studio on handmade sets. The landscapes are painted backdrops, the snow is paper, the clouds are cotton. That choice places it between theatre and cinema and connects directly to its subject: the story of an opera actor told in the language of the opera stage. Qiu drew on the real life of his grandfather. The narrative runs from the war years to the Cultural Revolution and shows what artists lived through in that period. It runs close to three hours. Who it's for: those interested in Chinese history, the opera tradition and formally bold cinema. Who it's not for: viewers expecting realistic telling; the film uses artifice as its method from beginning to end.