The Blue Kite
1993

The Blue Kite

蓝风筝 (Original Title)

This film recalls the three fathers and their mother Chen Shujuan during several political movements on the mainland from 1953 to 1967 from the perspective of the "son" Tie Tou. But after he was classified as a rightist during the anti-rightist struggle, everything changed...

1993年1月1日

This place is called Dry Well Lane...because there's a well here that's never had any water.
这条胡同叫“干井”,在这条胡同里,有一口从来没有水的深井。

The crow on the tree,
the crow flying free.
The old crow flies no more,
circling birds cry and caw.
Little birds look for food,
first feed mum and then the breed.
I wait for mine patiently,
for mum has always fed me.
乌鸦乌鸦在树上
乌鸦真能飞
乌鸦老了不能飞
围着小鸟叫
小鸟每天打食回
打食回来先喂母
自己不吃忍耐着
母亲从前喂过我

The whole country is caught up with the Great Leap Forward. You're on sick leave, you've no idea what it's like out there. It's a feat unparalleled in history.
现在全国上下都在搞大跃进,你在家休假,你是体会不到,那简直是从来没有过的壮举。

How communal kitchens waste untold amounts of food... how the crude methods of smelting steel produce only scrap metal...
公社食堂糟蹋了多少大米白面,土法炼钢,炼出的全是废铁。

We got through the three bad years when there wasn't enough to eat. When New Year's came, everyone had dumplings. To this day there's no food I like better than dumplings.
没吃没喝的三年自然灾害终于过去了,过年的时候,家家户户都吃上了饺子,直到现在,我都觉得饺子是最好吃的东西。

The fragrance of the wine beguiles,
the jade cup shines with an amber light.
The host makes his guests so drunk,
they no longer know where they are.
兰陵美酒郁金香
玉碗盛来琥珀光
但使主人能醉客
不知何处是他乡

Mum. Today we struggled our principal! And we wrote posters against her and cut her hair. She's such a bad person. She scolds and punishes us. So everyone spat at her. I spat at her too!
妈妈,今天我们给校长批斗啦,还给贴了好多大字报,把她的头发也给剃了,校长可坏了,经常骂学生,罚站,大家都往她身上吐唾沫,我也吐了。

I asked her why they put her in jail, then let her out. She said she wasn't sure herself. The Neighborhood Committee took over these rooms. Turned It into a storeroom for confiscated property.
我曾经问过她为什么被抓进监狱,又被放出来,她说她也讲不清楚,这间屋子让街道人给占了,是革命组织的仓库。

So even in these times people are still getting married?
哼,这年月还有人结婚。

- It's been more than ten days. I heard they put her through eight struggle sessions. Even hung a signboard around her neck. I'm so worried.
- Don't get too upset. This is a political movement. All the cadres are under attack. It's a revolution without historical precedent.
- 都十来天了,听说批斗了七、八次,还给挂上了牌子,真让人着急呀
- 你别着急了,这是运动,他们这些干部们都得受至冲击,这是史无前例的革命。

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