Ba shan ye yu

The literal translation of the title of this film is: Night Rain of Mount Ba.

Ba Mountain range is at the eastern part of the Si-Chuan province, the most populous province in China and it suffered greatly in the era of Cultural Revolution. This movie is a masterpiece of introspection on Cultural Revolution and a pioneer of reforms, but it is forgotten in the rapid economic expansion because what this movie criticized and advocated had already accomplished in the reforms. However, the movie still had its place consider the time it was made, in the early era of reform.

This Chinese film would not have been made only a few years prior to its release in 1980. The reason it survived was because Deng Xiaoping had succeeded Mao, and had begun the economic reforms that made China recover from the Cultural Revolution, which was an economic disaster of monstrous proportions. The film depicts the memories of a Chinese poet who lives through the Cultural Revolution and its arbitrary rules and restrictions.

It is really interesting to see the awakening of the natural capitalistic instincts of the Chinese people at the end of this repressive era and the beginning of the opening up of China with One Party, Two Systems (Capitalism and Socialism). The start of SEZs (Special Economic Zones) during this period, further opened up China to the rest of the world. The acting is heartfelt, as is the direction and the music. If you want to understand China better, you really should see this film.