One Second

I was lucky enough to see Zhang Yimou's "One Second" at the Toronto International Film Festival. Now, I'm not well versed in Chinese cinema, so I really didn't know what to expect in terms of the common genres, the narrative style, the pacing, etc.

All I can say is, I was very pleasantly surprised. The film is basically a road trip movie about two protagonists who really don't want anything to do with each other, but go through a journey that ultimately, yet ever so gradually, transforms their relationship. The plot was well-written with plausible events and very witty use of dramatic irony. In fact, this charmingly facetious tone is established early on in the movie eliciting chuckles from the audience all the way to the end.

On the topic of character development, what stood out for me was the balanced attention to both the male and female leads. At no point in the movie did I feel that one character was merely supporting the other. While it is not so rare for films to have more than one main character, I particularly enjoyed the coexistence of a male and female character in the lead roles.

I am very accustomed to seeing movies that praise individualism, the American Dream and the Nietzschean Will to Power, I had yet to see a decent film that championed communist ideals (I'm sure there must be quite a few out there - please pardon my lack of exposure and experience). This movie is centered around a propaganda piece and provides a "real-life" example of events that illustrate the ideals of camaraderie, solidarity and sympathy for the fellow man. Two characters who at first only care for their own "individual" and "selfish" well being, find themselves putting each other's best interest ahead of their own. And trust me, this is not done in a superficial, pedantic way that'll make your eyes roll (as it sometimes does in such films). In a sense, the film about a propaganda film IS an effective "propaganda" piece in and of itself.

It's hard to judge acting in a language/culture that is not too familiar. This is because any slight exaggeration or downplay of emotion may be a feature of the target culture and not "bad acting". Having said that, I found the acting in this movie realistic and believable. Organic comedy/drama bubbling out of the very carefully crafted scenarios and situations.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie and look forward to exploring Zhang Yimou's other features.

After a long line of patriotic films, which won't resonate beyond China's borders, One Second was a very welcome film.

The film is about an escaped convict who wants to see his daughter in a newsreel, the reel of which becomes the focal point of the movie. Throughout the movie, the main protagonist chases an orphan girl who steals the newsreel featuring his daughter. At times absurb (reflecting the times and accompanying behavior), at others humourous, the movie is overall a warm, touching tale of how two complete strangers come together, filling a void in the other.

Zhang Yimou once again captures the beauty of the surrounding area, even if often nothing more than desert and a drab village. There wasn't a character out of place nor an actor who failed to deliver.

Highly recommend.

Anyone unfamiliar with the larger career arc of Yimou Zhang can be excused for underestimating this heartfelt film. If it is not a masterpiece, then it is at least a worthy example from a master. It is, of course, a takeoff on Cinéma Paradiso (1988). I infer that this film is vastly truer to Cultural Revolution China than that one was to early post-WWII Italy. I think it rings true. I hope that someone who was there "in the day" will comment.

"Zhang" (Yi Zhang) manages to escape from a forced labour camp just as the Chinese cultural revolution is in full swing. His plan is to make it back to his remote home where he hopes to see a screening of a short propaganda newsreel extolling the merits of socialism that features his young daughter. The thing about these multi-reel movies, though, is that they are constantly being circulated, damaged, stolen and even covered in sand, so actually finding one in a working condition near somewhere capable of exhibiting it is no mean feat for this increasingly malnourished and frustrated gent. Then he encounters the wandering "Liu" (Haocun Liu) who also requires the film - but for an entirely different, and probably more practical purpose, so whilst trying to obtain it from her and stay one step ahead of the pursuing authorities, his work is cut out for him. As his quest proceeds, we are introduced by way of flashbacks, to just who he is, who she is, and why we are all chasing this moment encapsulated in nitrate and both actors deliver well. This reminded me, in many ways, of "Cinema Paradiso" (1988) insofar as it also really emphasises just how important cinema was to a small town community. At how revered, almost, the projectionist - in this case "Mr. Movie" (Wei Fan) - was, and despite the fact that the screen was little better than a king-sized bed sheet, at just how the population gathered to see whatever the authorities deemed fit for their consumption with eagerness and zeal. It's thinly veiled critique on all things "party" is disguised in some really quite dark humour with some down right disrespectful dialogue that ridicules the very principles of any one doctrine state: ostensibly benign or just plain authoritarian, things very rarely changed for the people scraping a living the same way they'd done for centuries. The scenes with Wei Fan, especially towards the end, do raise a smile and then there's the slight futility to it that works well, too. At times the photography gives us quite a powerful degree of intimacy and at other times it stands back and allows us to enjoy, or query, this man's purpose as you begin to wonder will he ever see the film and just what did he ever do to merit such persistent attempts to recapture him! It can be a little sluggish at times, but the last half hour makes it worth a watch.

Zhang Yimou, in general, is the director of the epical drammas. But all the while he manages to tell little stories with a certain cynicism and black humor. One second is one of these films that tells us a very cheerful story with touching tones of hearthwarming. The film is a kind of Chinese "Cinema Paradiso", which is full of love for cinema and for this seventh art. But Yimou not only speaks of love for cinema but also of a friendship and solidarity between a prisoner who has escaped from a concentration camp and a child that their friendship is in fact based on the roots about the interests of cinema. Despite all this good intention that the director wants to put forward, unfortunately the film is unable to end this brilliant idea with a decent final blow and leaves the spectator with a dry mouth disappointing and perplexed without giving the coup de grace that otherwise would have been a sensational ending. .