As "In The Same Breath" opens, we are in Wuhan, where there is a massive celebration for the new year. On January 1, President Xi speaks to the nation that 2020 will be a special year. In the very same news broadcast, the news anchor mentions that "8 people have been punished for spreading rumors about a new pneumonia". It will be another 22 days before Wuhan goes into lockdown. By then it is too late...
Couple of comments: this is the 3rd documentary from Chinese (but now US resident) film maker Nanfu Wang ("One Child Nation"). Here she carefully reconstructs what actually happened in December 2019 and the early months of 2020 in Wuhan (a city of 13 million), and how the Chinese authorities dealt with it. Suffice to say that it ain't a pretty picture, and that would be the understatement of the year. In fact, this documentary is a blistering indictment of the sheer manipulation of the Chinese people by the propaganda apparatus used by the Chinese Communist Party. If it wasn't clear yet, this documentary proves with devastating evidence that in China the well-being of its people is, at best, the third highest priority of the authorities. The first and foremost concern is the Chinese communist Party. The second concern is the "Motherland". Then, trailing far behind, is the Chinese population. Hence, the Chinese authorities cover up and deny or outright lie, time an d again, showing no empathy for the plight of those infected. Deep into the film, Wang also looks at the early response to COVID in the US, and finds remarkable parallels to the Chinese early response. We are of course not surprised, given the sheer and complete incompetence and worse by Trump and his cronies (this is examined in greater detail in documentaries like "Totally Under Control" and "The First Wave"). Bottom line: I don't know that "In The Same Breath" is the definitive account of China's early response to COVID-19, but it certainly is very revealing and damning in every which way. OF course since those early months, the Chinese response has been to crush the virus, no matter at what cost, human or otherwise. As of today, China is the only country in the world that still clings to a "zero COVID" policy, Why? Not because it's the best policy for its people of course. Far more important are the Beijing Winter Olympics, which must and shall succeed no matter what, so that President Xi comes out looking good and he can be re-elected this Fall to an unprecedented third term, unofficially making him President for life.
"In The Same Breath" premiered at last year's Sundance film festival to immediate acclaim. Now a year later, it remains rated 96% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The film started airing on HBO last Fall and remains available on HBO On Demand and HBO Max (where I caught it). If you have any interest in the seemingly never-ending coronavirus, or are curious about China in general, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.
