up the yangtze

a bleak winter's sunday afternoon seems a good time to see this one
not much to go on except a review by david and margaret
both of them giving it 4 stars and so the promise of a rewarding viewing
the film opens with a voiceover by the director yung chang
explaining he lives in canada and has returned to china on a visit
but that's about all we hear from him as he steps back
in a very deliberate way to let the images tell the story
being the effect of the 3 gorges dam project on the yangtze river
that will lead to the displacement of 2 million people
the facts surrounding the film in itself are quite impressive
200 hours of film shot over 12 months editted down to 90 minutes
all done discreetly without official permission or funding
the film is centred around 2 young locals working on a cruise ship
this ship carrying mostly american tourists up the yangtze river
there are a lot of scenes on the ship focussed mainly on interaction
as the workers are trained, then seen dealing with the passengers
there's the expected patronising of the workers by the tourists
some front of house shots of the crew entertaining the passengers
and various scenes on and off the boat as the crew are off duty
some finding their way in riverside cities offering mostly shopping
jerry is a teenage boy confidently entertaining and fleecing the tourists
cindy is all of 15 years old and works in the kitchens on the boat
she has been sent to work on the boat at the insistence of her peasant family
who come to visit at one point in some quite heart-wrenching scenes
her parents are well out of place and there seems little affection
there are also various scenes of the parents in their own hut and at work
making preparations to relocate as the river level rises
peasants are also shown working like slaves on the riverbank
high above the waterline laying tiled slabs of concrete
the significance of these scenes obvious later in the film
showing the river's level now up to that much higher point
i'm not sure that i would rate this film as a must-see
it does show a lot about a people and country not normally seen
but intentionally it is up to the viewer to form connections
rather than lazily expect that a narrator will be doing that
for me i felt i had not learnt much from the film about the project
which was something i should not have been expecting
for really it is all about gently showing the situation at hand
the heavy hand of can-do attitude and the insatiable need for energy
having a direct and quite sad effect on those living off the land
there really is no happy ending in this quite gentle film
no lectures or posturing or protestation
just a quiet resignation to the march of progress