A Young Patriot
Description
When he began his latest film, Chinese documentarian Du Haibin intended to investigate the psychology of patriotism with a study of Zhao Chantong, a 19-year-old Maoist zealot hailing from the northern city of Pingyao. Instead, the filmmaker’s intimate portrait of five tumultuous years in the young man’s life is an insightful and fascinating insider’s glimpse of a rapidly changing China. In the beginning, young Zhao’s fervent nationalism is so energetic that he marches around town in a Red Army uniform, singing and waving the Chinese flag, to the amusement of locals. But after a few years of school in the Sichuan capital Chengdu, the hard armor of his patriotism begins to crack. As a scene in a Mao-themed restaurant reveals, the long past era of the Cultural Revolution now has a kitschy appeal as China marches forward with one-party capitalism. When a government-sponsored reclamation project threatens the well being of Zhao’s elderly grandparents. Zhao’s bitterness and sense of betrayal grow, along with the gradual and demoralizing realization that he and his family are being left behind in the new Asian century. Haibin’s film makes personal an era of radical and unprecedented transformation.—Gustavus Kundahl
After studying painting and photography at the Beijing Central Academy of Arts, Du Haibin transitioned to documentary filmmaking. His second film, Umbrella (SFIFF 2008), explored the disintegration of rural communities in China and the rapid rise of big cities. 1428 (2009), his most acclaimed film and the winner of the Venice Film Festival’s Best Documentary award, captures the devastation caused when a massive earthquake struck Sichuan province in 2008.
Trailer
//player.vimeo.com/video/157228589?autoplay=1Film Details
Language Mandarin
Year 2015
Runtime 106
Country China/USA/France
Director Du Haibin
Producer Ben Tsiang, Ruby Chen
Editor Mary Stephen
Cinematographer Liu Aiguo
Music Pierre Carrasco