Shanghai Dreams

Men have been a plague on women's lives ever since... well ever since there were men. Things have been getting somewhat better, but not by much. Not everywhere. 80s China was not a good place to be a young woman. Frankly it was not a good place for anybody, but women had it worse, as always. It's grim, it's gray, it's depressing, hopeless, abject poverty. It is 80s China in a god-forsaken place where some idealistic couples were duped into volunteering for the betterment of the country and their futures. The party lied to them and now they are stuck. What else is new in Communist China? I wonder if it was also punishment for having a second child. Surely the one child policy had been in place by then.

Qing Hong (which is actually the movie's title) has an awful dad who makes her life miserable. He is miserable. In his narrow view he actually wants what's best for his daughter. And it's gutting me that he is right. I felt it in my bones right from the start. I think young girls are better off swearing off boys and working towards their futures, especially when possibilities are limited. Choosing the first boy that pays attention to you is a recipe for disaster. You are gambling with your life. And we know you cannot date and experiment in 80s China as a woman. But of course these parents don't have the language or the understanding to explain all these things to her. Dad locks her up or follows her around anywhere. Classic dad right?

Of course I had no idea how much I would be proven right and I did not want that painful lesson on Qing Hong. She actually believed in the promises, not as much as her best friend Xiao Zhen, but enough to regret for a lifetime.

To their credit these parents actually stand by their daughters the best they can. I was dreading the worst when it all comes to a head, but we're still given a small glimmer of hope for them at the end.

Capital punishment sounds about right.

In good company such as "Broken Flowers" which won the "Grand prix" at Cannes this year, "Shanghai dreams" brought home the "Prix du jury" which it well deserves. The movie has little to do with Shanghai except as a backdrop. The story takes place in Guiyang in the province of Guizhou in the '80s.

The centre character of the movie, Qinghong (the Chinese title of the movie), is a bright, sensitive and sensible teenage girl who moved with her family from modernised coastal Shanghai to the more backwards interior 10 year ago. Her father was initially happy to be a worker participating in the strategic scheme to form a "third line of defence" in the event of war against the Soviet Union, but soon started to blame her mother for persuading him into this folly. He became bitterer every day as Shanghai prospered and longed to return at the first available opportunity which, unfortunately, seemed elusive.

This historical background adds another dimension to the familiar and universal story of general gap and family strife. Added to this is social and class conflict, when Qinghong develops a romantic attachment to a young local factory worker. There are also subplots that give the audience insightful glimpses, through various well-depicted character, into the life of the industrial-rural community.

The movie starts at a characteristically slow pace, but picks up momentum towards the end with a tinge of a suspense thriller (just a tinge though). It has a solid ensemble cast, mesmerising photography of the bleak but character-rich landscape and great direction. Thoughtful attention to details is very evident in, for example, some of the simple scene of family dinner. There are also crisp montages (particularly towards the end) that tell the story in a remarkably efficient and interesting way.

"Shanghai dreams" is one of those movies that starts feeling a bit slow but gets more and more engrossing once you get into it. You come out with a feeling that your experience has been enriched. It's a movie that you would want to talk about afterwards.

The reviews calling this film boring and unrealistic show the grip Hollywood has on cinema audiences. One of the best features about non Hollywood cinema, particularly Asian cinema, is a fearless adherence to telling a story without a fairytale ending or some heartwarming relief. Shanghai Dreams explores a number of themes, such as adolescent rebellion, sexual liberation in 80s China and parental wishes and techniques. It's an epic and absorbing tale told using realistic and often bleak cinematography, in a hilly Chinese inland countryside that seems to be forever beset by fogs and rain. Although the near 2 hour length means it is exhaustingly bleak and leaves one emotionally drained by the end.

While flicking through some random TV channels i stumbled onto Shanghai Dreams. The main character Qinq Hong's yearning for freedom from her father is expressed by Red High Heels (made me think of Wizard of Oz) The lightness of touch at the beginning seeks to help absorb the viewer into the Story. The Director works well in forcing us to empathise with an initially ogre like father, the frustrations of being sold a lie are all too obvious. I did feel that Qinq's best friend could have been given more time, also the Wrist Cutting scene lacked impact and realism, Back on her Sewing Machine sitting bolt upright?

I would also agree about confusion at the end, who was executed? was it the Prisoners or the Family

Shanghai Dreams is a slow, insightful drama set in the 1980s in Guiyangg, a town in China's Guizhou province. During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, efforts to create a 'third line of defence' against the Soviet Union led to an influx of migrants to inland settlements. Guiyang was one such destination, but the town has since grown dilapidated and its people despondent. The opening scene introduces the central character, Qinghong, engaged in a group session of callisthenics, a façade of harmony that belies her unhappy existence and the fractured, disillusioned society that she inhabits.

Qinghong's domineering father makes her life a misery. Li Bin, young factory worker seeks Qinghong's affections, but is thwarted at every turn by her father, who is mistrustful of this locally-born suitor. The tragic consequences that ensue from the suppression of this relationship are especially troubling in that they appear to vindicate the father's negative view of country folk – that they are not to be trusted. It is unfortunate that the film focuses almost exclusively on the lives of the city folk who have moved to Guiyang and gives short shrift to the country folk living there.

The quiet rebellion of Qinghong and her friend Xiao Zhen is handled more effectively. The duo escapes the clutches of their parents and head to a party with other rebellious teenagers. The party is a slightly surreal affair, combining Westernised clothing (flares and the like), Boney M songs and some memorable disco moves. The conflicts that divide the superficially harmonious town are again apparent when the party is violently interrupted by workers from a neighbouring factory.

As the film progresses it becomes increasingly clear why Qinghong's father is desperate to keep his daughter on a tight leash. His family moved to Guiyang some ten years previously, enthusiastically backing the government's plan to strengthen the interior of China. But the dream of a successful new life in these new surrounds has come to nothing: the town is moribund and there are few opportunities for young people. The Communist Party is present only as a faint babbling on TV and radio. Qinghong's father desperately wants to move back to Shanghai, and therefore also wants to keep his daughter from becoming attached to the country folk who live in Guiyang, including Li Bin. Qinghong's parents sacrificed their happiness to embrace an ultimately hollow dream and are now sacrificing their daughter's happiness to sustain their dream of escaping back to a better life.

The malaise in the town of Guiyang is reinforced by the visual style of director Wang Xiaoshuai. Until the very end of Shanghai Dreams we see little of the countryside; the drama unfolds largely within the confines of the town and the repetition of scenery and camera angles makes for a stifling, claustrophobic atmosphere. Throughout the film, Xiaoshuai deploys unusual camera angles to considerable effect, particularly when filming the distress of the long-delayed encounter between Qinghong and her would-be boyfriend.

The enigmatic ending to Shanghai Dreams will likely cause confusion; I for one cannot fully fathom the meaning of the final scene. However, although this is not an altogether satisfactory note on which to end the film, this is still one of the finest Chinese films that I have seen to date.