Review by Richard Toews.

Perhaps the most ironic statement in Yung Chang’s film Up the Yangtze is that of an elderly gentleman as he watches the waters of the Yangtze River rise: “Our country must be very strong and prosperous, we can stop the river.” Mao’s dream to stop the river at the Three Gorges Dam, the subject of the Chang’s film has indeed altered the lives of the people along the Yangtze River. For many the prosperity that China seeks from damming the river has come at a price too few can afford.

Inspired to make a farewell journey along the river, Chang decides to return to China from his new own in Canada. In a statement that is both visually and sociologically powerful, Chang effectively blends the story of his own past with the story of the people of China who are most affected by dreams of economic growth. Within this union there is a third story, seemingly unobtrusive and yet forcefully overshadowing everything connected to it — the story of the river itself.

The story of the river is the story of an end to a way of life for nearly two million people who have been forced to relocate. The stories are unique and yet there is sameness to them all. From the Yu family, illiterate farmers who silently watch their home disappear under the water, to the shopkeeper forcibly relocated - the pain of their disruption is palpable. Set against these are the stories of two young Chinese teenagers who work on a river cruise ship for Western tourists, Yu Shui, daughter of the Yu family (assigned the name "Cindy" aboard the cruise ship) and Chen Bo Yu ("Jerry"). Ostensibly, Cindy and Jerry benefit economically from the changes brought about by the damming of the river, but any benefit is set in stark contrast against the shattered lives of those who dwell along the river.

Up the Yangtze is a terrible beauty. While it is visually stunning, it is agonizingly difficult to watch, particularly when the river, a symbol of life, slowly and methodically swallows up the homes of the people, and by extension the life of China. One can only wonder, is this the final sting of the Cultural Revolution?

Up the Yangtze
Yung Chang | Canada | 2007 | 93min

Sun. Sep. 30 | 7:00pm | Pacific Cinematheque
Tues. Oct. 2 | 1:30pm | Pacific Cinematheque
Sun. Oct. 7 | 11:00am | Pacific Cinematheque