We're the Red Guards of Chairman Mao
Who come from the steppes to Tiananmen Square
Our red flags are like a fiery sea
Our revolutionary songs echo up into the skies
Our Great Helmsman Chairman Mao
leads us on
We're the Red Guards of Chairman Mao
Who come from the steppes to Tiananmen Square
Our red flags are like a fiery sea
Our revolutionary songs echo up into the skies
Our Great Helmsman Chairman Mao
leads us on
Chairman Mao
Red sun of our hearts
The people of the steppes give you all their love
Lead us ever further onward
I first climbed these steps in 1971
Luo and I had walked two days
from the nearest town to the Phoenix mountains
the place of our re-education
Is that your suitcase?
Yes, chief
They say your father is a reactionary dentist
Guilty of what?
Treating an enemy of the people the former local governor
And before 1949, he fitted a tooth for that scum, Chiang Kai Shek
What's that?
A cookbook
You're holding it upside-down
What's so funny, you idiots?
Can you read?
Go on, read!
Show us!
Chief, you know I can't read
Read that to us
300 grams of chicken breast
10 shelled walnuts 20 grams of starch
10cl of yellow wine
Egg whites. A pinch of salt
Wash the chicken
Dice it up. Place it in a bowl
If we don't have walnuts can we use peanuts?
Revolutionary peasants will never be corrupted
by a filthy bourgeois chicken!
Chairman Mao sent you here
to be re-educated
not to have reactionary banquets
On our mountain, you'll work hard
and you'll eat cabbage and corn!
What do those drawings mean?
I'm called Ma Jianling They stand for my name
What's that, chief?
A toy
Just only a toy
It's silly. What's it for?
To amuse bourgeois kids
Into the fire!
It's not a toy, chief It's a musical instrument
It's called a violin
It has a pretty sound
Ma plays it very well
He'll show you
Go ahead
I play badly, Chief
I told you to play. So play!
You could play a Mozart sonata for the chief?
What's a sonata?
It's
A mountain song
What's its name?
It's not really a song
I asked you for its name!
It's... Mozart
Mozart is thinking of Chairman Mao
Mozart is always thinking of Chairman Mao!
Right!
Go on, play!
Chief told you to start
To think it's in this dump
We may spend our whole lives
The very idea gives me cold shudders
For ages the mountain people
had geared their activities to the sun
But this custom was shattered
by the way we had to rise
Get to work! You're all loafers!
Look at this liquid shit
Yours at home is no better
The only Westerner to enter this area
was in 1940
A French missionary, Father Michel
In his travel diary, he wrote:
After two months on the road
On 4th August in Chinese Calendar
I reached the Tianquan district and Phoenix Mountains
where copper is mined to min coins
The Chinese Annals say: In 100 A. D
that was exactly the Han Dynasty
a Han emperor gave this mountain
to his lover, a chief eunuch in the palace
It was the first official mention
of homosexuality in China
What the hell's going on?
You can't even push a basket!
Know what you spilled?
The hard work of revolutionary peasants!
Pick it up! Hurry!
Can I ask you a question? I'm listening
Yes
You know the hot springs at Three Scissors?
Yes
They say the local girls
go to wash themselves there
A real little paradise!
Beyond the Quick Sands if you head on westward
there's a small path between two cliffs
They're almost naked!
They're so pretty!
I can hardly see them I'll go the other side
What?
I'll go that way. I think it's better
Go get help instead of laughing!
I can't stop myself!
Hey! You're lucky
We're nice girls
We won't denounce you
Or else you'd end up in the Security Office!
They break the legs of voyeurs
Aren't you ashamed? The nerve!
Ma, pull me out!
Don't panic, I'm coming!
Go that way. You can get down
The tailor and his granddaughter!
We heard music, so we came to see
You're so clean
You doesn't look like a local girl
Recognize her?
She's dazzling!
This area is famous
for its pretty girls
Know what that is?
It's called a violin
I've already seen some
but never heard one
And the song?
Don't know
It's Mozart is thinking of Chairman Mao"
I hear your father killed the worms In a big chief's teeth
Killed what?
The worms in his teeth
Why are you laughing?
Here we don't use fancy words
That's not it
I think the expression's funny
I live on the other side
behind the Eye in the Sky
I'm the Little Seamstress
What's your name?
I'm Luo... Luo Min
Is the Eye in the Sky far from here?
About 3 miles
Is it yours?
It's Luo's
How does the rooster inside move?
It's a real rooster
It sings every morning
Ma! Come see
Did you notice her white teeth?
Whose?
The Little Seamstress
It's funny
I don't care to know her real name
Little Seamstress" suits her so well
But she is very primitive!
What time is it?
Where's the alarm clock?
Why you open it?
You always make trouble
You break it even you don't know what it is
I lost a piece
I'll repay you for your clock
Leave it alone, Luo
We'll fix it at our place
It's nice to be from the city
You know lots of things
Knowing how to sew is better
Life here is not much fun
Often, when I go to cut wood
I see airplanes passing above me
and I wonder what the world is like elsewhere
I made them myself
You know how to read?
My mother was the only schoolteacher on this mountain
but she died before she could teach me
There's a piece missing
I'll teach you to read
No. I don't have time
You shouldn't refuse
Think it over before saying no
We'll talk about it another day
My grandfather will soon be back You must leave
Let's go
I like your little planes
Will you give me one?
Why ask me? You don't have to
Just take one. Anyone
So? Everything's fine?
Yes
Fine
Then let's go
Give him a big hand! Welcome!
You know him?
It's Four-Eyes
I thank the local leadership
for letting me speak
I'm from a family of
reactionary intellectuals
My father is a criticized writer
my mother is a poet
In the 6 months I've been among you
I've learnt to farm, to plant, to plow
the buffaloes scared me
Now, with my whip
I make the most stubborn obey
That's a fine example
Look at him!
He even wears straw sandals
like revolutionary peasants
He deserves our applause!
All of you from reactionary families being re-educated
should follow his example
Listen!
He's saying that for us
I hate him
Our policy focus on content
but not only content
We often say
of 1000 children from bad families
only 3, 3 only
will be able to return to the city
I have a relative who's a projectionist in town
Each month, he shows a revolutionary film
He has to show Selling Flowers Girls several days later
Will you come and eat with us Sunday?
We pay for it
No. I have things to do
You blushed
Are you being introduced
to a young man Sunday?
Don't talk nonsense!
What's the problem?
Bring him along
We'll eat together
That day I'm going to the hot springs
with my girlfriends
Our re-educated have progressed
I'll give them a chance to prove it
The day after tomorrow in town they're showing
a North Korean film
They'll go see it
then tell it to us
It's a political mission
You're lucky!
Look, the tailor!
Tailors are always haughty of themselves
It rained It's slippery for an old man like me
Grandfather, do us a favor
4 days later
we're narrating a film in a village
It's a Korean Film
Tell your granddaughter to come
The violin!
Long line the Communist Party!
Long live the Chairman Mao's triumphant thoughts!
Look, peaches!
How much are they? 5 cents a lb. Want some?
I'm starving!
We've walked far
We're going to a movie!
Hurry! We're going, too
Smells good!
You eat first!
Go on!
It's hot!...Delicious!
Who wants flowers? Buy my flowers
Go elsewhere! There are people over there. Go away!
Korea is one of the world's coldest countries
No matter how the little Flower-seller's please
no one would enter the frozen lake
to get the snails needed to heal her mother
That day
whirlwinds of snow fall on Pyonyang
The snow made by the boys is prettier than real snow
Look! It's rice skins
The flower seller makes a hole in the ice
and jumps into the water. Let's imagine
So cold. Once, twice, three times
She spends the night in the icy water
until it stops snowing
She has found 3 snails
She runs excitedly home
she opens the door...
What's she waiting for?
Tell us the rest! Tell us! Go on, continue!
Excuse me. I'm thinking of my mother
Her mother lies on the bed
A sunbeam illuminates her face
An emaciated face which reflects from years of misery
It is tiny, like a child's face
She has already left this world
As the film ends
we hear a voice saying:
There's a proverb a sincere heart can make a stone blossom
Yet this girl's heart was truly sincere
Will you tell me a story?
A foreign film
All right. From which country?
France? Spain? Canada?
You know any?
I'm joking
How I would know stories from capitalist countries?
I only know socialist stories
from Korea, the USSR, Albania...
In the 1960's
there were many books
But I was too young to learn to read yet
When I learnt it
the Revolution came
All the books were burned
I know a re-educated boy who has
forbidden books
Who?
Four-Eyes. He told me so
He has a leather suitcase full of foreign books his father gave him
His father gave him
Four-Eyes! You even show off on a Sunday!
From afar
you look like a real revolutionary peasant
What a huge change!
Damn buffalo!
Wait! We'll find them!
Damn buffalo!
Calm down, don't be angry
I will kill you
Damn buffalo! I will kill you
Where did it fall?
We found them!
Four-Eyes, come here! We've got them!
Thanks
Without you, I was lost
I see nothing without glasses I'm really blind
You're nice. I'm glad to see you
We came to borrow your books
What books?
You forget?
Those you hide in your leather suitcase
That suitcase?
I threw it down a ravine
You didn't?
If you don't believe me
You can search my home
Postman! Any letter for me?
Yes
Yes. It's from the capital of our province
We've arrived. You look smart
It's ok
I am coming soon
Go on without me
Tombs aren't my thing
Coward!
Then we leave
I wait here and roast the sweet potato for you guys
You want a sweet potato?
You have a city boy's accent
I'm being re-educated. Here?
On Phoenix Mountain
Really?
So is my son. You must know him
He wears glasses. Four-Eyes
Soon he'll be going back to town
A Chengdu literary magazine hired him
Luo! Little Seamstress!
Four-Eyes is returning to the city
No more foreign books!
Are you joking?
I just met his mother
She said a magazine hired him
Damn! We're cursed!
What a pity! No more suitcases!
We need an idea
What? I don't know
Let's steal it
What?
Let's steal it
Good meat like this sells for yuans a lb in the market
Four-Eyes drank blood!
Drunk warm when you're back in Chengdu
it makes you brave as a red soldier
Did you like buffalo blood?
I'll remember it all my life
Damn buffalo! I got even with that beast
But the price was too high They cheated us
Smells good!
Is it ready? Yes!
We'll eat well
Eat much more carotene
Four-Eyes! Look at us!
We came to dance for you. For Eyes
Thank you
Are you putting on a show?
The commune lent us the costumes
It's good. Let's sit down to see
Come sit here
Thanks!
We're about to start!
We're the Red Guards of Chairman Mao
Who come from the steppes to Tiananmen Square
Our seamstress is keeping the enemy busy
Give me some light
Quick, inside!
Wait! I'll close it
Who come from the steppes to Tiananmen Square
What's that dance?
We're on horseback
On horseback? I thought you were on roasters!
Why disturb them? Do you want to try?
They dance very well
Let's applaud them!
Luo, may be they're here
No, they're not. Light up the bottom
Nothing, either. Careful!
We're the Red Guards of Chairman Mao
Who come from the steppes to Tiananmen Square
Our red flags are like a fiery sea
Our revolutionary songs echo up into the skies
Luo, here it is!
Great! We've found it!
And it's not locked!
With these foreign books
I swear I'll transform the Little Seamstress!
I'll cure her of her ignorance
Go on, open it!
I have cramps
You don't feel well?
I can't stand it
Going back?
Lu X un
Only revolutionary books! Not a single forbidden novel!
There's even a book on Chinese medicine
That bastard Four-Eyes! Too bad, let's take it!
Wait! They're coming back!
My stomach!
It's all the blood you drank
You're right
Sit down. I'll get you a pill
Did you open the suitcase?
No. I didn't touch it
Strange. It's open
Yet I had tied it up
It was Luo and Ma... They must have come...
to steal my books
Are any missing?
The foreign books are all there under Lu X un's
No books were lost
That's good
Strange!
Take this pill. It's for diarrhea
Do you want to vomit?
Don't know?
Try to vomit. You'll feel better Drink some water
Drink it all
I can't hold out What is it?
Where are you going?
Wait! Take some paper!
Don't be ashamed in front of your mother! Take it
It's beautiful! Look at her dress
I've never seen anything like it
Let me see
What's written there?
To combine beauty and intelligence is so rare
What is it?
Balzac's "Cousin Bette"
Balzac?
I wish I could read I can only look at the drawings
Listen to this sentence
then you'll know how good it is
318 years, 6 months and 19 days ago
Parisians woke up to the sound of all the bells ringing loudly
And the title of this one!
Just for the title, I already adore it
Where is Paris?
In a country called France
Where is France?
In Europe
Listen to this title:
, by Gogol
And this one, what a name!
by Dostoevski
There's one by Kipling
An Englishman
There's even a Chinese novel:
It's classical Chinese
Too complex for you
It's there! No one comes here
No one comes here
A perfect place to hide the books
Fine. It looks safe
We'll put them here
Luo! Here is better
Alright!
We'll baptize the place
We'll take them out one by one Like that
if we get caught
we'll only lose one at a time
The others keep placing here. Alright?
Alright!
Nearly 5 AM. Balzac is so gripping!
I'm almost through. Only 20 pages to go
Call me afterward
I'll read it to the Little Seamstress
Ursule Mirouet
Funny name...
I'm done. Your turn
How was it?
I feel the world has changed
The sky, the stars, the sounds, light
even the smell of pigs nothing is the same anymore
Ursule Mirouet!
Luo! What's wrong?
What's happened to you?
A moment ago, I had a fever
Now, I'm ice-cold and shivering all over
It's not serious
I'm thinking of my mother
It can't be much
Can you carry me? No problem!
It must be malaria
Stop it! Why would you have malaria?
It's the best thing for malaria!
You have to bear it if you don't want to die
No! No!
Ma, you stand away from here
Right here
No! I don't want it
Once more
Is it a good cure?
That depends. Not always The best is a willow branch
Who told you that?
The best is sophora Sagebrush is good, too
Chief is right
When Zhang's son had malaria
we whipped him with a branch of sagebrush
It healed him completely
Hey, you men! The meal's ready. Come eat!
You take over. I'm tired
Strike as hard as you can
If you want to cure him
don't hold back! Hit him hard!
The Little Seamstress
What's wrong with him?
My village wants to hear you tell the film
He has malaria
He's in no shape to tell a film
Let me do it
Luo
Let her do it
Careful
You seem much better this morning
My legs are weak but since yesterday
I feel better
I'm doing it
Actually, it's not as good as when you tell it
If the chief finds out we saw that same N. Korean film <>
it's no more movies for us
Tonight, we'll tell you
an Albanian film
Albania? Where's that?
Don't you know Albania?
A great friend of China's Is it a good film?
The best I ever saw
The strongest moment
is a hypnosis session. It's wonderful
Go on! Begin! Encourage him!
The main character in this Albanian film
is called Ursule Mirouet
A very exotic name
Shall we say it together?
Ursule Mirouet!
The director is called Balzac!
Balzac!
Damn! I didn't notice the time go by
7 PM! The day is over!
Finish! We pack up!
I'm through. Want to try it on?
Come and try it on
Have you started smoking?
When did you get back? Did you eat?
I'm not hungry, I'm annoyed
I was reading to the Little Seamstress
Her grandfather came back:
When he saw the book his face became white
he yelled at me. Worse
he burned
The senile fool!
You said it! I hate him!
I never want to see him again
In 5 min
I want everybody in Three Willows field!
Damn, I slipped
But the path is so wide!
What are you waiting for?
Do I have to pick you up myself?
You bastard!
This may be the whole difference
natural man from civilized man
Great spiritual enjoyment serious enjoyment
The savage only has feelings
The civilized man has feelings and ideas
Good old Balzac is right!
Let's see how he analyzes it all
He says:
So, with savages
little impression is made on the brain is made on the brain
Civilized man used his mind to control his emotion
I looked for you
We just wanted to take a book
but Luo started reading
Our village women bought cloth in town
I heard your grandfather said
he will come to our team
and make them clothes this week
The clothes are an excuse to search our home
Don't talk nonsense!
Tomorrow will be a hard day. Rest up
Come to live at home
The water of your foot-bath is already hot
You had it last year
It's my turn
Thanks
but I'll stay here
with the two being re-educated
It's not very comfortable
The door doesn't close We have no toilet
We have to do our business outside
You won't like it
But I'll have more room to work
Now, I'm going to rest
I'll see you tomorrow
You and I already know each other
Which means I can speak to you frankly
I'm listening
My granddaughter has changed recently
Changed?
In what way?
The other day, when I came home...
You know what this is?
An undershirt
No. It's not that
It's something else
Think again A short vest
You like it?
It's beautiful!
It's called a bra
That's what they call it in books
In all of Phoenix Mountain
I'm the first to have one
What's it for?
To enhance your breasts
What are civilized people?
Civilized people means:
The savage only has feelings
The civilized man has feelings and ideas
I was so frightened for her
that my hands shook
Sometimes a book can affect your whole life
Grandfather is that what you came to tell me?
You just want to told me about this?
Stop reading her novels
They don't tell the truth
Teach her useful things
Your family has problems
You should think about your future
Learn useful things? In this dump?
You're kidding with me
I'll teach you to sew
To become a tailor?
Yes. To become a tailor
I could teach you the trade
Grandfather, I'm too clumsy
to be a good tailor
Here's the chief. He's back from town
That damn revolutionary dentist!
Only knows how to torture
the poor peasants. Scumbag!
Look at this!
It doesn't look rotten
The idiot made a mistake!
He pulled a good tooth
Where's the rotten one?
I've still got it
It's horribly painful
They say you know lots of stories
Tell me one
This one begins in Marseille
It's the year 1815
Where is Marseille?
Very far away. It's a French harbor
Why go so far?
Don't you have something nearer?
A story about ghosts or Chinese bandits
I never get tired of those stories
My story is set in Marseille
If you don't like it, good night!
Continue if you want
I'm going to sleep
Bravo! You baited him Now he's hooked
I am sure he wants to listen
What is your story about?
It's the story of a French sailor
Captain Edmond Dantes
later known as the Count of Monte Cristo
We can use it to make a belt too
Monte Cristo kept us awake
9 nights in a row
The old tailor was indefatigable
At night, he listened to me By day, he worked
Inspired by Dumas
fantasies appeared
on the clothes he created
Little French details suddenly
adorned the clothes of our farm girls
mostly marine symbols
That year
a Mediterranean breeze
blew on our mountain
Jackets like sailor suits
bell-bottom trousers
Dumas would have been surprised
about the dressing of the farm girls
Our farm girls don't know that
Dumas had also described more refined clothes:
Bodices embroidered with fleur-de-lys...
Mercedes's lacy dress
Only the Little Seamstress knew our closely guarded secret
It's a good thing
you came to help him
Your grandfather has rings under his eyes
You'll sleep at my place tonight
Here, there's no room for you
Alright
Perfume, precious wood beauty, palaces,
translate the name of this charming place
Champs Elysees What a pretty name!
It's the finest avenue in Paris
where Monte Cristo
lives in an emperor's palace
Get up! Come with me!
You'll explain this at the Public Security Office
Explain what? I did nothing wrong
I heard everything
You told reactionary stories
about nobles
who live like emperors
Chief, have a cigarette. Calm down
What Ma told is just a story
The nobleman in question
He is a foreign, not Chinese
In fact, he was a poor sailor
which according to Chairman Mao's
Little Red Book
puts him in the most
revolutionary category
Stop your chatter!
Don't take me for an idiot
Chatter, that's all you bourgeois can do
Come on, follow me!
Chief. I shouldn't have listened to them
I'm also guilty
Listen, Luo, I'm not a bastard
I'll give you a chance
to save your pal
Whatever you want
My rotten tooth is driving me crazy
You're the son of a dentist
With this piece of tin you'll be able to repair it
Repair a tooth with this?
Where's my granddaughter?
She's asleep. What's matter?
Those re-educated boys need her
I'm too old for such things
Don't move, chief!
I won't move
Here we go!
Don't panic! The tin hasn't melted yet
Shit! You almost killed me!
It's not my fault, chief
I've told you already
You won't sit still
The problem is the speed of the drill
At the hospital
my father has an electric one
Come on!
Just do it in one go!
Ready?
Start Now? Alight
Don't panic!
I warn you: If you fail
I'll take Ma away!
You move all the time, chief
And the cavity is in a tricky spot near the gum
May be I can't finish the job
Chief, the best thing is to tie you up
or else you will fall
What? Tie me up?
Me
Me, a chief elected by the Commune Committee
Tie me up? Are you mad?
Come on, chief! It's too late
It's too late to act that way
A rope!
Chief, have a puff on this It will put your mouth to sleep
Leave me alone
Ok. Forget it
Stay calm. It's a minor operation
It's a minor operation
Close your eyes
and concentrate...
on the bad tooth
You won't feel anything. Ready?
Ready. No problem
One moment! Is he tied up?
Solidly!
Chief! Now keep still! Here we go!
Very Fast!
Faster!
Slower
Don't move!
It's almost done
Hand me the filling
1 I mean, the melted tin
Chief, it's a bit hot
Careful. Keep your mouth wide open
You see, it was nothing
Doctor Luo!
What are you doing here?
I waited for you. Haven't you heard?
Now you're a famous man
What do you mean?
Lots of patients are
waiting for you
They say that thanks to you
the chief's toothache is gone
What?
Come, Doctor Luo
All those people?
Doctor Luo!
It's a golden opportunity. Look!
We can't leave
They've brought eggs
chickens, ducks
The poorest brought some noodles
Don't disappoint them
Wasn't there a medical manual
in Four-Eyes' suitcase?
It'll be handy
My re-education has made me
erratical
My literariness
erratical
I religiously copied
excerpts from my favorite novels on my sheepskin coat
I... love... you
Once more
You...
Next sentence
I... love... you
Again
I... love...
Now just say it!
I love you
Faster
I love you
Faster!
I love you, I love you, I love you...
The chief risked his life
to save Mao's portrait!
Chief
Chief didn't die eventually
After the mine caved in
the chief spent more than a month in bed
The village was totally disorganized
and we had a few weeks freedom
For the first time
I felt like composing
I got my inspiration
from an old miller
a connoisseur of bawdy songs
Among friends no cheating
The first glass, bottoms up!
Mountain people have their little pleasures, too
So, you want to hear a mountain song?
Uh... Yes Something authentic, rather romantic
Romantic?
Romantic means
Something tells of pretty things Of love, for instance
In my family, from father to son
we've sung one, in the form of a riddle
Wait
Which bird rises up and up?
Which bird is like two blades of a knife?
Which bird dives into the pond of the sky?
Which bird shakes the brown grass?
The falcon rises up and up
The swallow is like two blades of a knife
The crane dives into the pond of the sky
The briar-cock shakes the brown grass
I understood nothing of your riddle
What word do I have to guess?
You're leaving tomorrow?
You told her?
Not yet
I have to tell you...
What?
I got a telegram
A telegram?
From my parents
My father is in the hospital It's very serious
Are you going back?
I spoke to the chief
He gave me a two-month leave
Two months? You'll be gone that long?
Maybe less. Where are you going?
If your father
eats a soft turtle
He'll recover fast and you'll come back sooner
Watch out
Go see her every day
after I've left
Why?
She's too pretty
I don't want anyone to steal her
I entrust her to you
To keep tabs on her?
It is not a tab
You'll read her novels. She loves it
Promise me
A snake bit me! It hurts
Get up. Don't worry
It really hurts
Sit down
I'll tighten it to stop the poison
I'll suck it out
You're shaking! It didn't bite you!
Quickly!
Shit!
Careful! Come back soon
I know
There's something you don't know
Tell me, what's it
Climb on! Come with me!
I can't. Later, you'll know why
I have a problem
Ma, take care of her!
Don't worry
Stop! Stop running!
During Luo's absence
I read to the Little Seamstress
To change from Balzac
I read her
Charles was surprised to see how white her nails were
They were shiny, tapered
trimmed like almonds
Yet her hands were not beautiful
not pale enough, perhaps
and a little hard in the fingers
Her good point was her eyes
They were dark, but her long lashes made them seem black
and she looked at you frankly
with a sort of fearless candor
Just a second. Keep reading. I'll be back
Two places gleaming with silver plate
had been set on a small table
at the foot of a great four-poster
hung with chintz
with pictures of Turks
and a glass on it
Ma, look! Grandfather made it for me
For 3 weeks
I read her
While reading, I saw myself
in the husband's role
then as Emma's lovers
The Little Seamstress was my Bovary
Bovary
Tomorrow, I'll read you some Lu X un
Afterward, you'll think
everyone is
right out of his books
I like Balzac best
His translator is a fine writer
He has an amazing style
I know nothing about style
I like Balzac, I can't help it
Hey, washerwoman! Stay right there!
Leave our village girls alone!
Get it?
Dumb asshole!
Look at you! Care to wash my panties?
Go on!
Wash my panties!
Let the bastard have it!
He's got a book! Who's that?
A foreigner
It's Karl Marx
Marx has a beard
His portrait's in the commune office
Leave me alone
Maybe it's Stalin
It's Lenin. Look, he's a bit bald
Look, he's a bit bald
I'll kill you, scumbag!
We'll get you!
The inhabitants
calmed down again
Despite the arrival of the revolutionary army
nothing really changed
I have a problem
The village hooligans?
It has nothing to do with them
This morning, I vomited several times
Are you sick?
I'll read you the rest
I haven't had my period for 2 months
If he finds out I'm pregnant
my grandfather will kill Luo
What do you plan to do?
The law forbids me to get married until I'm 25
We just turned 18
And abortion is illegal
without a marriage certificate
Any way you look at it
I'm sunk
Don't say that. Let me think
Gynecology?
It's urgent
The consultations are over
The duty doctor's up there
He's a tall man
Doctor, are you a gynecologist?
Yes. Why?
I'll introduce myself:
I'm the son of Dr. Ma Hongbao
of Chengdu hospital
You may know him
I'm here in re-education with my sister
She's pregnant
You're lying Dr. Ma doesn't have a daughter
Doctor, please help us. I beg you
I'll give you a French novel
I'm not lying, about the novel
I copied a passage on my jacket
My poor Christophe
you cannot know the delights of being free
To feel that
all minds are free
around you
and your soul
even the dunces
is an indescribable pleasure
as if the soul
were swimming
in endless skies
She could never live elsewhere
It's a translation by Fu Lei
I recognize his style
Now he likes your father
he's an enemy of the people
Why are you crying?
Sorry!
I shouldn't
Is it because of your father?
Because I said he
was an enemy of the people?
I don't know
Is it because of Fu Lei
Balzac's translator?
I didn't mean to criticize him
he writes so well
I don't know why I'm crying
You're still young
How old are you? 20? 25?
I'll find a solution
I can't do what you ask me
in this hospital
If anyone found out
it'd be too risky
But I'll find a solution
All clear
There's a problem
He changed tunes
Is it ?
No
Written for Lenin. Then what is it?
Then, I'll listen
We have no choice. Be brave
In 5 minutes, it'll be over Don't be afraid
What was that scream?
A high note on the violin
For the black swan's entrance
1 It's not as good as
I feel like I'm someone else
And more like myself
Ma, have you gone mad?
You must take me home
This is the way into town
Don't worry!
1 I had told your grandfather that
we were going to see a new film
Take a rest? Sure
Afraid he'd suspect something
when he saw me?
Not really
I felt we needed a change of scenery
This is for you
Buy something in town Whatever you want
Where did it come from?
Never mind
Take it and buy what you want
Tell me where it came from
I sold my violin to the doctor
He's a connoisseur Someone else would've...
You sold your violin! For 20 yuans!
No. For 25 yuans
But I kept five of them
to buy a harmonica
of the Heroes brand made in Shanghai
Canned food and liquor
for your birthday
From my parents
Thanks
Let's wish my Grandfather had no sick hereafter
Good health
And a long life
I'll play you a tune on the harmonica
Wait!
There's one more dish
Excuse me
Just eat first
Grandfather, come help me
I'm coming
Do you remember?
You swore
to cure her of her ignorance
You succeeded!
She even has less of an accent
All thanks to us
Reading novels to her was helpful
At the time
we had no idea
what would happen to us
I became a violinist
For the last 15 years in France
I first played in Lyon and Toulouse
then I formed a quartet in Paris
with friends
to play my favorite composers
Mozart and Beethoven
From China come this news item about the dam
being built across the Yangtze river
1 It will submerge a whole mountainous area
and turn it into a huge reservoir
to provide electricity
for 200 million people
The 234 districts that make up the site
will be wiped off the map in 2 separate floodings
to make way for a vast lake of over 600 sq. Miles
located 525 feet above sea-level
A gigantic worksite
Hello, Mi Shen
I'm watching a report on the area
where I was re-educated
My whole youth
Yes, I'll call you later
They are the first wave of refugees within the area
In this breathtaking landscape
these age-old rock steps
1 that link the villages on Phoenix Mountain to the valley
will soon be drowned by the Yangtze river
Passengers for Beijing on Oriental Airways...
May I help you, sir?
You wish to give some perfume?
For what kind of woman?
Fine
Hello, lady
From 1971 to 1974
during my re-education I lived in this house
Over 27 years ago
I've been here for 10 years
Who is your husband?
Zhao Libao
Zhao Libao! The chief's son?
Do you know him? He went to buy firecrackers
Have a seat
No thanks
Stay and eat with us
I don't want to disturb you
Making toys for the kid?
No, tonight is the Feast of the Spirits
We light up paper boats on the pond
for the souls of our dead
People behind
the Eye in the Sky come, too
Really? The person
I'm looking for may come
Both our villages are being moved
because of the dam
We leave in a month
It's the last time
we'll send out boats for our dead
Do you live
behind the Eye in the Sky?
Yes, so what do you want?
I'm looking for the little seamstress of your village
A female
This is our little seamstress
I'm looking for someone else
The one I'm thinking of probably didn't come
Have you found her?
Not yet
You should look at the names written
on the paper boats
Usually
those who don't come
have their names
written down by others
SHANGHAI AIRPORT
Come on
This is my wife
Delighted
Say Hello to uncle
Uncle
Your son
Luo
you're a big shot now at the Institute of Dental Medicine
He's a professor with tenure and supervisor of theses
He's a national authority
I'll be a soccer player
In what team?
The Sichuan team
Two of the re-educated lived here
You remember?
It was so long ago!
Of the two, one was very handsome
What was he called again?
Ma something...
He drew a horse to write his name
No, it was...
Luo
Right! Luo
Weaklings
who weren't very brave
But great storytellers
I remember that! They told us films and
we cried like babies
Look at that!
It still works They made quality goods, in those days
It's 20 minutes late, chief
Are you sure?
I'm sure. I have a Swiss watch
It's 3:20 PM
It's like me, getting old
Stop!
There's the tooth we filled! He still has it
No. Ours was a premolar
Shall we go on?
Which bird rises up and up?
Which bird is like two blades of a knife?
Which bird dives into the pond of the sky?
Which bird shakes the brown grass?
I remember that
it was a riddle
but I never found the answer
You want to know it? I'll tell you
You must recognize that place
The tailor died
Our Book Grotto!
It sounds as if people are talking inside I thought I heard voices
When I was filming
It scared me. It really did
Who was it?
It was our voices that
we left over 20 years ago
Luo!
Ma!
She's gone!
Gone where?
To try her luck in a big city
She said she wanted a new life
She left, just like that!
To look for a new life
Didn't you say anything?
I did. I told her that if she left
I never wanted to see her again But in vain
She's very stubborn
When did it happen?
A while ago
Wait for me!
Luo, you sure this way won't be longer?
That way will be much longer
Why did you cut your hair?
I felt like it
Who bought you those sneakers?
Ma did
I decided to leave
Who changed you?
Balzac
If you leave...
those books by Balzac...
I won't read them to you anymore
Look at me! Look at me! Have you made up your mind?
You've already decided
I love you so much and you were leaving without a word
Take care of my grandfather
Say goodbye to Ma for me Take care of yourself
In town, I'll be fine
Did she leave?
Because of Balzac
Balzac?
She says he taught her one thing:
A woman's beauty is a priceless treasure
In 1982, I searched for her
I was told me she was working in Shenzhen
I went there
It seems she had left for Hong Kong
You loved her
I know even you never say it
You loved her too
Yes, maybe
Only each of us loved her in his own way