"Yellow earth" (1984) is the breakthrough film of the 5th generation of directors in China. This is the generation that had his film-education after the Cultural Revolution.
"Yellow earth" (1984) was the debut movie of Kaige Chen. Eight years later he would make his most well known movie with "Farewell my concubine" (1992).
Kaige Chen would however not become the leading figure of the 5th generation. This would be Zhang Yimou, who was cinematographer in "Yellow earth". He would make his debut as a director with "Red sorghum" in 1988. His film "Raise the red lantern" (1991) has certain similarities with "Yellow earth", both with respect to form (color red is very prominent in both films, although this is not reflected in the title of "Yellow earth") and to content (pre arranged marriages).
"Yellow earth" is about a soldier of the Communist liberation army that visits a rural area to collect folk songs. In so doing he meets a 14 year old girl on the brink of a pre arranged marriage.
The theme of the film is a young enlighted Communist liberation soldier that brings the truth to a backward area. This may seem moralistic and even propagandistic in Western eyes. But that may be a little hypocritical. Look at an American movie such as "In the heat of the night" (1967, Norman Jewison) in which an educated detective from the North brings the message of anti racism to the backward South. Is this less moralistic?
Some reviewers note that it is remarkable that the film had no problems with the Chinese censors. Given the propagandistic element in "Yellow earth" I found that hard to understand. Maybe these reviewers thought about the following. In the first place the film is situated around 1940 and maybe Chinese viewers may ask themselves how big the difference between the Chinese rural area of 1940 and 1984 really is? In the second place the words of the liberation soldier may be beautiful and politically correct, but what exactly is the benefit for the 14 year old girl?
Oddly enough the film made me think of two films of the Japanase master Kenji Mizoguchi. The drowning scene in the Yellow river made me think of "Sansho the Bailif" (1954) and the return of the liberation soldier at the end of the film of "Ugetsu monogatari" (1953).
"Yellow earth" (1984) was the debut movie of Kaige Chen. Eight years later he would make his most well known movie with "Farewell my concubine" (1992).
Kaige Chen would however not become the leading figure of the 5th generation. This would be Zhang Yimou, who was cinematographer in "Yellow earth". He would make his debut as a director with "Red sorghum" in 1988. His film "Raise the red lantern" (1991) has certain similarities with "Yellow earth", both with respect to form (color red is very prominent in both films, although this is not reflected in the title of "Yellow earth") and to content (pre arranged marriages).
"Yellow earth" is about a soldier of the Communist liberation army that visits a rural area to collect folk songs. In so doing he meets a 14 year old girl on the brink of a pre arranged marriage.
The theme of the film is a young enlighted Communist liberation soldier that brings the truth to a backward area. This may seem moralistic and even propagandistic in Western eyes. But that may be a little hypocritical. Look at an American movie such as "In the heat of the night" (1967, Norman Jewison) in which an educated detective from the North brings the message of anti racism to the backward South. Is this less moralistic?
Some reviewers note that it is remarkable that the film had no problems with the Chinese censors. Given the propagandistic element in "Yellow earth" I found that hard to understand. Maybe these reviewers thought about the following. In the first place the film is situated around 1940 and maybe Chinese viewers may ask themselves how big the difference between the Chinese rural area of 1940 and 1984 really is? In the second place the words of the liberation soldier may be beautiful and politically correct, but what exactly is the benefit for the 14 year old girl?
Oddly enough the film made me think of two films of the Japanase master Kenji Mizoguchi. The drowning scene in the Yellow river made me think of "Sansho the Bailif" (1954) and the return of the liberation soldier at the end of the film of "Ugetsu monogatari" (1953).