The construction of the Three Gorges Dam, and a visit to the land of his grandfather, was the impetus for Canadian Yung Chang’s documentary. An unrealized dream of Mao Zedong, this largest of hydroelectric power generators was realized in a China the communist leader might scarcely recognize. Yet some people still live in ways barely touched by modernity, and it was these people who were most represented among some two million Chinese displaced by waters that would rise 175 meters.
Sumptuously depicting the mighty river and the massive construction project in the early going, the film seems to promise a more-encompassing journey than what follows. The history of the project, the particulars of its construction, and discussion of both environmental and economic issues connected to it, are largely absent. A tantalizing time-lapse shot of the river rising to cover a ramshackle hut, then trees, is more along the lines of what I expected. But mostly, Chang primarily follows one soon-to-be-displaced family as they make the agonizing decision to send their daughter off to work on a cruise ship rather than go off to high school. By way of contrast is a rich boy who also gets a job, but the girl is the focus. We watch her struggle with homesickness, learn how to please the American and European tourists (never use the word “fat” is one edict), and get her first taste of a different kind of life. It’s unfortunate that Chang didn’t extend the time scale of the movie so we could find out how she and her family fare in the new China. Presenting China’s wrenching changes in microcosm, the film’s a decent time-passer, but would benefit from a wider perspective. With only sparse narration by Chang, it has more the feel of an unusual TV reality show than a feature film. (In fact, the movie will air on PBS’s P.O.V. series.)
IMDB link
viewed 7/24/08 at Ritz Bourse; reviewed 7/26/08
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