Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square (1998)

Directors:

Donald McWilliams
Shui-Bo Wang

Release Date:

16 October 1998 (Canada)

Genre:

Documentary | Animation | Short | Biography

Plot:

An autobiography about the director's life, career and ultimate disillusionment with The People's Republic of China.

Plot Keywords:

China | Autobiographical | Place Name In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins

Cast

Shui-Bo Wang

...

Narrator

Also Known As:

Le jour se lève sur la place Tienanmen (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

29 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Company:

National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Fascinating look at a closed book-China in the late 1960s-early 1970s up through 1989.

This documentary, comprised of archival newsreels, still photos, artwork by the director/narrator and other material, is a largely autobiographical look back at life for one man in The People's Republic of China. By extension, it looks back at China, because his life is enmeshed (as we all are, to one degree or another) by the society in which we grow and live. This lost the Academy Award to another very good work, The Personals, and although I like both works, I confess that I would have picked this one and I'm not really sure exactly why it lost out. It's a remarkable look at what was, for years, a closed society. One man recounts his journey through idealism and devout belief in the rightness of his society through his growing disenchantment and disillusionment, which led to his leaving China. This film could not have been made in China. It probably could not have been made easily in the United States, either, for different reasons. In China, it would be a crime to do so. In the United States, it would only be made if you managed to get the wherewithal to do the filming. But it was possible to do this here, whereas it would not be, even today, in China, at least not without great risk. Almost as great a testament to the human spirit as that sterling moment of grace under pressure, of the lone figure standing in front of the tanks one day some fourteen years ago, in Tiananmen Square. The human spirit is never destroyed-like all matter, it simply changes shape. This is yet another project produced under the auspices of the National Film Board of Canada. Exceptional piece of work and well worth tracking down. Most highly recommended.