In "To Live", I pick up on a strong dissonance b/w the mother and the father already. The father is hardcore for the revolution and being a good communist, but the mother still seems to 'rebel' a little. She is not willing to risk her children's health etc. for the revolution. I'm actually a little nervous to see what happens, if someone should find out how she is not completely committed. Also while Fugui was in the army, he said "i want to live. there is nothing more important than family" or something along those lines. i'm curious to see if that line comes back into play anytime, if he makes some huge sacrifice for his daughter or wife.
In the documentary "Morning Sun", there was a lot more discussion of people beginning to question communist thought and teachings. In "To Live", that topic has not been addressed; people at that time simply seem to accept it more or less. and I am unsure as to whether it will be discussed. How the direct chooses to present it in "to live" should be interesting.
Posted by emily at October 20, 2004 09:00 PMI thought that the mother was pretty dedicated to the revolution, but i definitely agree that she was not nearly as hardcore as Fugui. I also thought it was funny that when they were talking about Fengxia being pregnant Jiazen brought up the whole thing about Fugui not being there while the kids were growing up, thus tying in the "nothing is more important than family" quote.I remember how all Jiazen ever wanted was a quiet family life, but she never got it because terrible things kept happening to them. Maybe if she was more rebellious they could have moved out to the country or something and then they're kids would still be alive and she could finally be happy. You commented on whether or not Fugui would make a huge sacrifice for his wife or his daughter, but wouldn't you agree that it seemed they were making all the sacrifices for him? Just a thought.
Posted by: Leah at October 21, 2004 08:57 PM