"To Live" (1994)

(Originally released as Huozhe)

Starring: Ge You, Gong Li, Ben Niu, Xiao Cong, Deng Fei, Tao Guo, Wu Jiang, Zhang Lu

First, The Lowdown: A family has to roll with the punches of destitution and political upheaval.

Fugui is a gambling addict. He spends his nights gambling away his family’s fortune and ignoring the pleas of his pregnant wife, Jiazhen, to stop. After finally losing his father’s estate to Long’er, the manager of a shadow puppet troupe, Fugui comes to the sobering realization of all that he’s squandered away. As if to underscore this point, Jiazhen leaves him and takes his children. Fugui’s father honorable acknowledges the gambling debt, and dies of a heart attack after signing the deed to the estate over to Long’er.

Now left to care for his mother on his own, Fugui has turned over a new leaf and refuses to gamble. Jiazhen returns with their newborn son, Youqing, who she nicknamed “Don’t Gamble.” Determined to support his family now more than ever, Fugui goes to Long’er to ask for a loan so that he can open up a shop. Long’er, however, gives Fugui a counter proposal: since winning Fugui’s estate, Long’er has disbanded his puppet troupe, he gives Fugui the chest of puppets so that he can earn his own living without having to borrow money. (Remember, this is the days before TV, folks.)

Fugui finds success performing for farmers and factory workers and income is easily found amongst the working classes - at least until the communist uprising. The Nationalist Army captures Fugui and his partner, Chunsheng, and forces them into labor. Although worried about his family, Fugui has no choice but to stay with the Nationalists until one day he, Chunsheng, and another man wake to find that the entire army has deserted their post. Captured again by the communists, Fugui finds working for them easier because they allow him to perform.

After the fall of the Nationalists, Fugui returns home to find Jiazhen and his daughter selling hot water on the street. During the time of his capture, Fugui’s mother has passed away, and his daughter, Fengxia, has lost her voice and part of her hearing from a fever. Still determined more than ever to raising his family, Fugui returns to performing his puppet show, now doing so for the steel workers making their quote for Chairman Mao’s “Great Leap Forward.”

This movie meanders a bit, but needs to in order to tell its story. The plot at times seems a little episodic, and plays out like the storyline for a long-running soap opera characters disappear only to reappear about 5 or 10 years older when you see them next. Like Farewell My Concubine the themes of political upheaval and culture shock after the communist uprising is very dominant. But unlike Concubine, the characters in this movie take everything in stride, seeking happiness in themselves rather than lamenting about the severing of the old ways.

Line of the movie: “I want to live, there’s nothing like family.”

Four stars. Be happy.