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| Blind Shaft (dir. LI Yang) |
What is the most memorable scene for you? How would you compare this film with previous films we dealt with in this class? Due Monday November 18 by 8 pm. Comments to two other responses due Monday by 10 pm.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Blind Shaft response
What is the most memorable scene for you? How would you compare this film with previous films we dealt with in this class? Due Monday November 18 by 8 pm. Comments to two other responses due Monday by 10 pm.
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The film called ‘Blind Shaft’ was directed by Li Yang. It talked about a sad story. Song Jinming and Tang Zhaoyang are two farmers. They took some people to work in a coal mine. And then they would murder them and make it look like an accident. After this, they would ask miners for money. Miners always gave them money because they don’t want to let police know someone dead in his coal mine. They had done this thing for many times. One day, they met a teenager named Yuan Fengming on the street. They wanted to make money from this teenager. They also took Yuan to work in a coal mine like other people. They planned to murder him. However, Yuan is a studious and simple boy. And he is very considerate. It often made Song recall his son. Song produced the heart of compassion for Yuan. In the end, Song saved Yuan when Tang was killing him. However, Song was killed by the explosion with Tang in the coal mine.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a sad story. We know Song and Tang are both bad people. They have killed a lot of people. However, Song saved that kid in the end. He has killed a lot of people. He never feels sad. Why he is reluctant to kill this kid this time? In the film, he said ‘he has a son and his son is good at studying. If he had a lot of money, he would save all of the money for his son’s study.’ It shows Song really love his son. He earned all of money is just for his son and family. It’s a good thing but he uses a wrong way to earn money. I’m not sympathetic with Song’s ending. However, I feel he is not a cruel man. At least he saved Yuan’s life in the end. I think he wants to redeem himself because he is a good person in essence.
I'm curious about what you say regarding Song. You said he's not a cruel man: that he's a good person. I wonder if the director would want us to question whether or not Tang is the same. You also said "We know Song and Tang are both bad people," but what leads us to believe that and then question Song's character in the end? I think the different views the director gives us of these two characters are both very interesting in terms of the story and extremely vital in understanding the film itself.
DeleteI think I'm also curious about you say the Song is a good person, he is a bad guy all the time from beginning to end. One the other hand, we can assumption if the Song is good man, he can't assist Tang finsh so much the things without humanlity.(such as the murduer the Yuan's father) Finally I just want to say, the two villains deserved this fate, this is all their fault.
DeleteI think the end of this movie isgood, it shows a causal loop. Everyone wants to have a lot of money, but people can not do bad things because of money.
DeleteWe can't judge Song is a good person at the end although he saved Fengming. Even he survived and out of the shaft from the explosion, he is still a murderer, and jail time is waiting him.
DeleteMuch like last week's Beijing Bicycle, Blind Shaft has a very documentary-esque feeling to it. The director's background in documentary filmmaking, as well as acting offers some insight as to why this film watches the way it does. The style of the film is that of a documentary, but its lack of an objective third-person perspective lends it the feeling of a very (overly?) authentic piece of fiction. Li Yang points out on page 222-223 of the Speaking in Images interview that he personally made an effort to deconstruct the methodology of professional actor Li Yixiang so it would match and blend with the performances of the non-professionals. It seems to work to great effect in the final product. The film is almost so authentic as to be confusing in its lack of linear (or at least predictable) motion. There is no attempt in the movie to provide narrative details beyond what is being framed and captured by the camera and it asks a lot of its viewing audience because of this.
ReplyDeleteIn the interview, Li Yang also alludes to social hierarchy and the commentary on it that occurs in the film, quoting the saying "The big fish eat the small fish, and the small fish eat the shrimp" (221). The two lead males are by turns the big fish and the small fish, consciously and conspicuously placing themselves in whatever position their needs require of them (for example, their brazen negotiation with the mine captain at the beginning of the film, wherein the employee garners power over the employer via (un)happy circumstance or their treatment of prostitutes in multiple scenes throughout the film). That is, until they find themselves a pair of shrimp in a large pond, as in the scene when they are spooked by the driver of the expensive car. It shows how fragile one's place in the world truly is and it is my belief that this is the larger message of the film. By the end of the film, the "resolution" that the audience predicts has been completely turned on its head, showing how easy it is to upset the balance.
I also thought "Blind Shaft" presented itself as slightly documentary like with its use of camera angle. The majority of the film was filmed at eye level, and only a few scenes were shot from above or below. I think Yang's experience as an actor helped pull out the emotional connection needed in Li Yixiang's character. The article mentioned Yang stating he became a director after his experience with inauthentic and confined perspectives of previous directors.
DeleteI like your metaphor of big fish, small fish and shrimp in the pond. The society is like a pond, the sources are limited so they need to survive with killing or eating. That is ironic.
DeleteAlthough I initially thought I would hate watching a movie about coal miners in China, “”Blind Shaft” is actually my favorite film that we have watched so far. Unlike other art house films like “Millennium Mambo” or “In the Mood for Love,” Yang discusses his intentional use of fast pacing and thereby creates an emotionally satisfying film. (220) “Blind Shaft” presents the harsh reality of coal miners in China, using blunt scenes and bold dialogue to capture a realistic and multidimensional aspect of contemporary China. Visually, the film provided striking contrasts in the brown and black landscapes of the land mines versus the bright and chaotic city. The film contains so many layers and elements—it manages to successfully discuss human nature, coming of age, and criticisms of contemporary China.
ReplyDeleteThe film does a great job of creating realism and showing the complexities of human nature. Although Tang and Song are in some ways crude and ruthless murderers, Song also shows his compassion and perhaps well intentions. Throughout the film, Song talks about how he uses his money to provide for his son’s education, providing a beacon of light in his otherwise dark actions. Fenming also brings out the humanity in Song. One particular scene was when Fenming borrowed Song’s money to donate to a child’s high school education. Upon seeing Fenming donating, Song goes back, questions the child, but nonetheless hands the child some money, which challenges many ideas about human nature being just “good” and “bad.” Later, when Tang insists on killing Fenming soon, the camera lingers on Song’s face and reveals his conflicted emotions. Yang also discusses creating “realism” by having the camera at eye level and creating intentional ambiguity. In the end, I was still unsure whether Song was advancing towards Fenming with the weapon in order to help Fenming or kill him. Despite the rather grim topic, “Blind Shaft” was engaging, suspenseful, and sometimes shocking.
I too think that Li Yang delves into the topic of humanity during the scene where Song donates to the child in the street. I found myself feeling guilty for thinking that Song was the "better" of the two murderers because he had more sympathy for children; however, at the end of the day, Song was murdering people to get ahead in life. Yes, he was murdering people to get money to pay for the care of his family, but you shouldn't have to kill people to get ahead in life.
DeleteYou captured his use of realism well. I like how you recognize the "layers and elements" in the film. I think this film has been the best of the art house films as well.
DeleteAs you said, Blind Shaft raises alot of rather difficult questions, particularly moral ones, and does so in a very 'strong' way. It makes me ask myself if we hold people to different standards based on who they are. If Tang and Song were rich men killing people for extra money would we condemn their behavior even more? Would their acts of kindness seem like they were as meaningful if these two weren't living on the fringe?
DeleteBlind Shaft is directed by Li Yang, it tells a story of two minrs, Song Jinming and Tang Zhaoyang, they ask poor people to work with them on the mine, and they treat these people very nicely, but at last, they kill them at work by making it looks like accidents, and then blackmail the mine owner for money, because they think working normally on the mine is not going to make money fast. They got this boy, but these boy is so innocent, and nice to them, and Song thinks the boy is the son of a guy whom just killed by them, so he talks to Tang about he doesnt want to kill this boy, but Tang doesnt care, all he cares is about the money, at the end of the movie, Tang losts his mind, he tried to kill both of them and get the money himself, he doesnt make it because of Song, the boy runs out, Song and Tang are killed by themselves.
ReplyDeleteI would like to talk about the background of the movie first. The mines in China are not really legal, first of all, it is because the owners trying to make more profit, and the workers are overload, secondly, there is a specific depth of the ground that the government sets, because if workers go deeper than that, it is going to be dangerous, but the owners do not care, they only want to make ore money. Last but not least, the owners try to make their capital as less as they can, a lot of equipments are not achieve the requirment that the government makes. Not all the owners are like this, but most of them are, so if something happens in the mine, the owners do not want anybody outside of the mine to know about it, and they would even hire people to kill the people whoever trying to spread the bad news out, like that guy in the first mine who asks the owner if he wants to kill them. So I understand why this movie is prohibited by the government, there was a news, I cant remember is it last year or two years ago, a journalist in China tryied to do a story on the mines, and he got caught by the mine onwer, and he was killed by the mine owner, I am studying journalism, and my parents asked me not to work politic and economy if I try to get a job in my field of consentration.
about the movie itself, I think the movie shows how hard the lives are, these people spend years working in another city, they only get to see the families once year, or once in a couple of years, it just makes us to treasure what do we have now, and knowing what is important to us. The song that Song whistles every time in the movie is called Li Jia De Haizi(children away from home), it reflects how bad they miss their families.
It's interesting to hear about the journalist you mention, especially given that Li Yang talks about an experience he had relating to the fear of press coverage of these illegal mines. I think it shows how important it is to understand the context of a movie and its story, both in the fictional world it has created and in the real world - the place that isn't being depicted in the frame, merely imitated by the director.
DeleteThat is an interesting point about Song's whistling tune; I had no idea it the song was about children away from home. This just shows how deliberate Yang was in every aspect of the film. I also think the film highlights a dark and perhaps unspoken issue in China. In the article, Yang said he was once mistaken for a journalist and could have easily been killed or imprisoned. This just shows how sensitive the subject is and the high lengths people will take to keep this subject unexposed. Because of this controversial topic, I respect Yang for risking his own life and creating this film.
DeleteI agree with your opinion, the song of "children away from home" is always throughout the whole movie. I think the director perhaps want to expression something to us.May express a grass-roots worker's homesick,or working hard.In addition, the movie always told me:
DeleteWork is really not easy, we should respect the grass-roots workers, all in all they deserved to respected.
Thanks for the information of background. I am majoring in geology so I know how hard and dangerous of a mining work. It is hard in USA, not to speak of China. I even heard that after several seconds of their shooting underground, the shaft was collapsed.
DeleteI love the background of the song he whistles! Without you writing about that small detail I would have had no idea. That is pretty sweet.
DeleteAlso, I think it is a great movie, one of my friends said that she feels bad about those Chinese movies which win big awards in the world's film festivals, because most of them talk about the dark side of China, and she thinks it ruins China. But in My opinion, I think it is kind of a good thing, these movies push Chinese people to think deep and more about ourselves, and we can be better.
ReplyDeleteI agree...movies such as this are important. Though the mining industry (and many unregulated industries) in China is unsafe, the movie could have taken place anywhere there is economic injustice in the world.
DeleteIn the story of "Blind Shaft," two miners in order to make money, cheating people come to work in the coal mining area as their relatives. Then they kill them and pretend as the accident to get the damages clauses. But one day, they noticed a young boy. They cheated him to the mining area as usual. But as they working together after days, one of the two miners, found his innocent and kindness. He was moved by the young boy's goodness. Finally the miners was buried underground and the young boy got 60,000 yuan ironically.
ReplyDeleteFor me, this movie is hard to accept. The most dirty part of the human were showed on the screen. The poverty turned people into devils. In front of money, lives can be ignored. The manger said in the movie "In China, there is a shortage of everything- but no shortage of human being."(Blind Shaft) But it is undeniable that when people got the basic requirement for living, they would be able to consider other things, like human rights, kindness or charity. In the reading, the author claimed "all such approaches to the film, including the film's own- which see it alternately as being local problems of object migrant labor, global problems of capitalist avarice and environmental debilitation, or a humanistic quest for goodness- are entirely valid but inadequate in explaining the film's powerful affinities with modern world politics."(Chow, p.173) But as my concerned, the film need not talking about the politics. It is the problem from the poverty, so we may focus more on natural humanity.
I really like the quote that you mentioned in your post. I too remember this in the film and thought to myself, "Well...that's a dreadfully honest way of putting it!" In reading some of the other posts on here in addition to the interview, it seems that people have mixed opinions of how Li Yang portrayed China. Some feel that it was criticizing China, while others feel that it was a film that allowed China to self-reflect and analyze what can be done better.
DeleteI feel like the reason why this film was prohibited in mainland China is it reflected the truly living situation of the migrant labors and what the seamy side of human nature.
Delete"In China, there is a shortage of everything- but no shortage of human being." This words is too realistic and I heard several time in different situations.
DeleteOne of the most memorable scenes for me was the scene after the opening scene, when Tang and Song first go into the mine. This scene sets the stage for the movie and illustrates Li Yang's ability to create suspense and drama in his films. This scene is shot in the mine underground. Consequently, there is very little light, with the exception of the light from each of the flashlights on the men's helmets. In addition to the lack of light, there is also a lack of sound, with the exception of the stomping of the men's feet as they trudge up the staircase and around the mine. The lack of sound and lighting creates a very mysterious, secretive, and suspenseful mood.
ReplyDeleteLi Yang artfully crafts together the preceding scene by using contrasting lighting and settings. This scene is much brighter in comparison to the darkness of the mines, yet there is still much silence. The three men (Song, Tang, and the man who eventually gets murdered) silently move towards the mine to be checked by the security guards before they submerge below the earth. As they are doing so, the group of men share a single cigarette. Each one takes a puff and then passes it along to the next one, but either Song or Tang (I can't remember who) takes a really long puff and gets the cigarette jerked away by one of the other men in the group. This action triggered the audience to sense that something very bad was about to happen.
In reading the interview, I have come to the conclusion that Li Yang is very thoughtful in the design of certain elements such as lighting and sound in his scenes. The scenes described above are no exception. On page 218 of the interview, Li Yang notes that he intentionally left the relationship between Fengming and the first victim "hazy" as he felt that it would be too much of a coincidence with the massive population of China that Fengming was the son of the first victim.
I completely agree that the beginning of the film sets the stage for the entire film. I actually wrote about this, too. I agree that the lack of light and the lack of sound builds up the suspense even more. I think it's important to realize the color we do see. For example: Outside, we see light, but it's gray. The sun isn't out, and the camera lens seemed to have dulled out all the color. This at once gave me an uncomfortable feeling that something was about to happen, and I knew the movie was going to have some kind of suspense.
DeleteGood point on the ciggarette scene, I would Not notice that if you dont point it out.
DeleteThe first word that came to my mind at the end of Blind Shaft was "raw." The cinematography, lighting, story line and acting all led to an intensely real film. A lot of the films we have watched to this point seem so overdone compared to Blind Shaft. And the fact that this was Li Yang's first feature film (210) astounded me. Page 214 states that Li Yang director 3 documentaries prior to this film, and I think that sheds light on the style that this was filmed in. Documentaries are often ultra-real, allowing a look at things that no one else could get. You are given such a micro perspective, creating intense emotional response, and I felt like Blind shaft captured that marvelously.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found most interesting was the take on morality. The film seemed like a constant struggle between right and wrong. The tension was so strong in fact that I felt myself turning away at certain points of the movie (the sex scene for example). I could almost hear the director saying "is it wrong of you to look at this scene?" And while I don't particularly care for nudity it forced the issue on right versus wrong. At the end of the movie there is still no answer on what's right and what's wrong. A beautifully crafted struggle.
I like the way the director frames the 'right vs. wrong' situation. Even when it's something that's undoubtedly bad, the movie forces us to confront the characters' motivations. Sometimes I felt sympathetic for their reasoning even though I found the behavior unacceptable. Sometimes we see characters doing the right thing for the wrong motivations.
DeleteComplete agree with you description of the movie, as the movie also occurred to me as intensely real. It seemed so real to me that I started wonder how often do con-artists do this in real life.
DeleteI agree with you when you say "raw". everything in the movie is so simple and real, even if the story is created, it still can make the audience believe it.
DeleteSome people say：“ the director Li Yang is most should not be forgotten director in China.” I think this comment is a little bit exaggerate, but this film name of “Blind shaft” is absolutely one of the most should not be forgotten in the Chinese movie. Although it have been forgotten already. For all I know, before direct the film of “Blind shaft”, the director Li Yang was shoot documentary all the time, therefore this also determines it have strong realism in this movie. Through this film, we can see many of things are real and have a feeling of immersive when we saw it. Such as the dark tunnel, desolate field, shabby Town, numbness of the crowd. Beyond that the story is dramatic at the beginning and end, it completely out of my expectation. A sentence of “Are you homesick? Let me send you to home” become a sign of murder. The notable is the film ended most satisfactorily: vice punished and virtue rewarded. In my opinion this is a story regarding the humanity’s devoid and recovery, the two villains do the work without humanity, they first lure labor into the area of mining, and then they look for opportunity kill the labor underground, after that making false impression of the accident. When they finish the above steps they will as a kin to the deceased claim money to the mine’s boss. When the young boy becomes a new target, one of the villain’s humanity began recovery in front of this innocent boy. The villain of pretend boy’s uncle began to see the young boy as his relatives, so he does not have heart to kill the young boy. Finally the two villains become enemies with each other and cut one another's throats, they both died cause of the mine accident of they made, but the young boy was not only escaped but also get the compensation as relative.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I’m concerned, the outcome is not a tragedy, but more heavy than the tragedy. The villains are harmful, and the good person was killed, all of this is force by life, the root of evil is the society. On the other, the film touches me most is not only humanity, but also have real. This is a realistic works, focusing on the group of men at the bottom of society and the most humble cheap in China, which is miners, and that is the most dangerous of small coal mines. Borrow a word in the film "China is never lack of people", small coal miner's life is the most worthless. Every mine accident always rob several lives, and the bereaved family can only get the compensation of twenty thousand or thirty thousand RMB, if there is no relatives or relatives do not know, dead also died for nothing. Back to the film, if assumption the Fengming Yuan was killed, and the Tang Zhaoyang successful out of the mine, I suppose maybe it will become the most deadly realism tragedies in the Chinese movie history, but the outcome are goodwill and full of hope, perhaps life itself is not so goodwill, but we can aspire to the kindness. At this point, we should thank for the film censorship system.
I'm confused by your last statement. Are you saying that had the ending been different, and Fengming been killed, that we they would be right to censor it? Or are you praising the censorship bureau for not allowing the film to be seen in China?
DeleteThe screen become darkness, but the story is very clear, it tell us a story frankly. When i finish this movie last night, i remember some key wards: the underground operation; extort with death, one life worth 30 thousand yuan; evil ore; twisted mind; fault in system; kind of fatality.
ReplyDeletethis story reflect the spot of Jinming’s conscience is he still care his family, his proud of son with a good study. Just cause of his solicitous to his family, he is absence of mind with the hooker, when he saw the nonage Yuan Fengming, he want to do this thing seriously after starting it is a joke, after a few days, when he found Yuan is thirsty for the sex indistinct, he pay for this to him again, after a long time, the emotion between them really like uncle and nephew. Another victim last trade also named Yuan, so he still feel guilty. So that he delayed 2 days by an excuse to send him off. Thus, no one say anything, but no need to express himself in so many words, he and his partner is over, once they break up, they may kill each others. So they have no need to act and still cooperation.
Finally, Chaoyang as an opposite form, cross the borderland first, kill one miner he saw awkward before, and the last things are pregnant, they say let Song kill Yuan, and Song is the nearest to him, so Song has 2 choice, kill Yuan or care Yuan to kill Chaoyang, there is a foreshadowing, Song can not make a decision in a short time. So Chaoyang give up an unfavorable waiting for him, kill Song first. Song died, and Yuan was shocked, walked to Chaoyang step by step...
Maybe if the director let Chaoyang lived to walk out, maybe the shocking is much more stronger, but this director still full of hope for the human nature.
Rather vaguely contains fatalism is: the first victim, is it Yuan Fengming's dad? From the beginning of the same surname, intermediate time, Fengming took pictures that make Song Xinzhong shaking, then naturally or half unconsciously funeral the shoes for Song and Chaoyang enters the lens, I do not know how other people think, I had been thinking about during the opening of this movie, the victim’s shoes leaved to the two killers, and this may be an important clues found by Fengming inadvertently later so that he can escape the bad fate. The director had a joke to sensitive audience, or this seems to have become one more common clever plot. As the audience is aware of these possible clues, but the director wanted one more ending beyond all expectations.
In fact we know, Song killing earned money to their children, from this point, we can think that he is not a man be utterly devoid of conscience. But these could not conceal his murderous facts.
DeleteI really enjoyed how you picked out specific phrases from the film that stuck out to you. It is interesting to see how the film struck people with as little as a few words.
DeleteBlind Shaft was directed by Li Yang. In this film, there are three main roles: Song, Tang and Yuan. Beginning of the film, Song and Tang will be Yuan's father killed, and their two relatives of the dead were fake, fraud, in order to get the money. One day they met to work Yuan in the street, they fake Yuan relatives, work together in a site, and plans to kill Yuan, so as to make another fraud action. Their contacts with the Yuan process, Song psychological changes, he didn't want to kill Yuan. At the end of the movie, Song saved Yuan and Tang, and die together in the well.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I think the film at the end of the design is very clever. Song and Tang's was death, it caused Yuan become the beneficiary. Yuan had no harm in the heart of the entire movie. At the end of the film, I'm not Song saved Yuan and moved, because he killed so many people, he saved the behavior of the Yuan, I think it is a kind of self-salvation.
“Blind Shaft” is a movie talked about two fainéants pretending as coal miners and tricking people for mining jobs and kill them in the shaft as accidents to cheat compensations from mine owners. Until one day, they found an innocent young boy. Coincidentally, the young boy is the son of one of the victims they murdered before. One of the two cheaters moved by the young boy and changed his mind. At the end of the movie, he saved the young boy and perished together with another cheater in the shaft. And the young boy became the relation of these two cheaters and received the compensation.
ReplyDeleteThis movie is a truly depict of the underlying coal miners in contemporary Chinese. It is a documentary-like style film to present those of ordinary people to the audience directly. There is no deliberate dramatic effect, but only tells a true story. In this film, the dark side of human nature was showed to audience directly. People pursue money can even neglect to the lives. It also showed us the humanistic of people by character Song. On page 221 of Li Yang’s Interview, he said: “This film is an exploration of human nature. Everyone in this world has their good side and bad side. There may be a moment when a murderer’s conscience is awakened.” Song actually sympathized to Fengming, because Song loves his son and Fengming is similar age as his son and also good at study. It a kind of reflect. Also, when they went to bazaar, there is a little boy raise money for his high school tuition fees. Fengming borrowed some money form Song, he saw that and also left money to this little boy. One thing also interested me is Song and Tang take Fengming to brothel to let him “relax”. We can find Fengming was shy and even can’t stare at the prostitute. If Song and Tang don’t force him stay at the brothel, his might not stay there for a second. From this I might say, human nature could be affected by outside environment.
After reading the interview with Li Yang, I agree that how the movie depicts the coal minters in contemporary Chinese, the film has a "documentary-like style" I also found it interesting how Li Yang used the film to explore the good side and bad side of every human being. Interesting post
DeleteThough it's the very beginning, before we can really get into the film's plot, I found the beginning scenes very interesting. For about the first three minutes, there is no dialogue. It starts out with a large group of miners just walking. None of them are talking to each other. Then, three of the miners share a cigarette without saying a word. They get into the elevator and ride, once again, in silence. I thought this scene was the most important because, to me, it shows how routine going to the mines is. Nobody talks to each other because they've been doing the exact same thing at probably the exact same time, almost every day.It's as if they've done it so much that they've run out of things to say. This silence combined with the dull color of the screen filter gave me an odd feeling that the film was going to be creepy or unsettling. I knew right off that something was wrong. Everything seems gray, even the sky when they are outside the mine. And when they're in the mine, it is, of course, very dark -- just like the film. Because the beginning scene sets the mood for what the rest of the film will be like, I think it's a very important scene.
ReplyDeleteIn the interview with Li Yang, I found it interesting how Yang was involved with many documentaries. Yang also says that he learned from many novellas and articles about murders and corruptions going on in the coal mines. (Page 216). Now that I look back at "Blind Shaft," I can definitely see it as a sort of documentary telling us about the murder and corruption going on in mines that Li Yang read about. It also made me wonder if the mines here in the U.S were corrupt, and if some mining accidents were done on purpose . . .
In the interview
As I am writing my response and reading through others', I find that my impression of the opening scene is exactly the same as yours. The silence and the dull color sets the tone for the movie and is very important to the movie as a whole
DeleteMine accidents happen several times a year in China and with the development of media, more and more accidents are exposed by journalists and reporters. Mine accidents are serious problem for couple of years in twenty-first century in China. Li Yang did this film, which others did not expose in movie style. Li Yang is brave and this film honestly show the truth of what happen in real mine factory. Blind Shaft centers on two men who both come from rural area but have a grisly scheme: They persuade their victims to work in a small mine, plot their "accidental" deaths, and then pose as the relatives of the dead men to collect their meager compensation. They two are murders and they kill people for only thirty thousand Chinese Yuan per victim. They did the same thing several times without conscience until one of them did not want to kill a young child who is only 16 year old. In the end, they have conflict and contradiction, and kill each other by the same way they kill other victims.
ReplyDeleteFollowing the story is like walking down in a mine shaft by me. Even with a weak headlamp worth fifth Yuan, I can feel the conditions underground is not good, even weak, dark and dangerous. I remember the screen when the two murders are talking about is the young boy is the son of their last victim because they have the same last name and look like similar. Our audiences did not get answer in the end, but I would like to believe it is true. The last screen in this film, when two murders are cremated, their shoes are showing to us and stopping for several seconds, and I believe it is the shoes they get from the last victim, who is the father of young boy’s father. So Li Yang gives us an open ending and makes us think more, and the two bad guys are dead for what they should have. Like Li Yang said in the interview, “I decided that the film I was going to make has to have a fast rhythm, and I did not want to tell the audience too much. I wanted the film to leave some space for the audience to reflect on later”(From page 220).
I like how you put yourself in the situation of the miners. Comparing you "walking down in a mine shaft" to watching them actually walking down was a great idea.
DeleteIn his interview, Li Yang says that in China "coal mines are almost 100 percent illegal." (p.219) Although it is true, it's sort of hard for me to swallow having been born and raised in the USA. The most striking scene to me, was very early in the movie. The mine boss was talking about what to do with the two gentleman who had lost their 'brother' in the mine. His assistant suggested that he just have them killed, but the boss said that it was more trouble than it's worth paying off the police et cetera! The matter-of-factness with which he discussed the matter really struck me, and gave me a sense of the low value some people will put on human life.
ReplyDeleteThis film does a good job of feeling 'realistic' while retaining dramatic scenes and elements. Some dramatic movies we've seen feel more serious (Woman Demon Human) than others (The Killers), while others have a more serious feel but just didn't grab my emotion like the others (Millenium Mambo). "Beijing Bicycle" seemed the closest in terms of style, but "Blind Shaft" is a far darker movie.
I also believe that this film is expose the dark part of China, so it was prohibited by Chinese government. But this film really reflect the realistic social phenomenon.
DeleteThe most memorable scene for me is the opening scene of the movie. I never really like to make myself to focus on a specific scene before I watch a movie, but I did this time because our professor said that the opening and ending scene is very “dark”. I thought that the open scene for this movie is important because it does two things: not only does it sets the tone for the movie, but it also gives the audiences who had no prior knowledge of the illegal mining in China (such as myself) and idea of what is it like a illegal coal miner. The tone of the opening scene was mysterious and enigmatic at times. The silence really forces the audience to focus on the visual of the scene, as you see three miners sharing a cigarette, but not exchanging words. The scene also looks extra dull with very limited color, which makes the tone of the movie even darker. With that being said, the audience can really can a good idea of the worker’s routine as a illegal coal miner from the opening scene, before being introduced to the main characters, This was a good way to capture the audience’s attention, as there were no dialogue and they really have to pay attention to the scene.
ReplyDeleteI was a bit surprised when I realized that this movie was based on a novella (Li Yang interview, pg 216), it just never occurred to me that this movie wasn’t an original. Li Yang mentioned that he added a lot of scenes and characters and completely rewrote about 30 percent of the original scenes, so I wonder if the movie would have the same success if Li Yang decided to follow the original novella completely. He mention on page 217 that he rewrote the ending, changing it from the traditional “happy ending” that was written by Liu Qingbang. I think Li Yang made the right decision because the ending fits the “dark” theme of the movie and pushed it to another level. You would think that someone like Fengming, who is portrayed as a pure-hearted, kind teenager, would save his “uncle” who he grew so close to, and escape the mine together. Or like the original was written, Fengming would refuse the compensation. But not only did he not save Song (his uncle), he left him there to die when he can save him. Although you can argue that Fengming wouldn’t save Song because Song wanted to kill him (not really, but that was the plan) in the first place, but Fengming is clearly too dumb to realize that. And when the mine manager wanted him to get the compensation, although he refused it at first and was reluctant to sign the paper, he still signed it which to me, was very out of character for him to do. Either he was peer pressured to do so, or he figures out that Song and Tang was indeed trying to kill him to begin with, and realizes that its every man for himself out there.
It makes me wonder how the film would have turned out had Li Yang not rewrote the ending. Not sure if it would have been banned all the same if the ending was lighter in tone.
DeleteI agree with your opinion. This film's opening scene sets the tone for the movie. Although we know this is a film, it still make me think it's real.
DeleteI thought that Blind Shaft was a very interesting film. Out of all the scenes, the first scene is the most memorable in my opinion. Admittedly, when I first started watching this movie, I forgot to turn the volume up on the monitor. Naturally, it struck me as strange that there was no noise; but since the character's mouths were not moving, I just figured that it was silent part of the movie and watched anyways. In those opening, silent moments I found there to be so much meaning. When I realized that I had forgotten to toggle with the volume dial, I turned it up and re-watched the scene. To my surprise, there wasn't much more going on sound-wise than when I originally watched it. However, the meaning, to me, remained mostly the same.
ReplyDeleteIt's almost hard to put my finger on, really, why that scene struck out to me so much. Maybe because I watched the first part in without volume, I truly got to experience complete silence in the movie. I feel as if intentionally putting this silence in was a very smart move by the director. When the scene first opens, and all the coal miners walk out, nobody is conversing. Perhaps this is due to the mundane and repetitive nature of their jobs. The environment around them also contributes to these feelings as well. Everything is meek and boring, not to mention you can clearly tell that because of the way everything is set up that they have been there for a while. These appearance factors combined with the lack of sound truly set the mood for the rest of the film. Not to mention, in the beginning, giving it a very bleak feel. This silence alone set it apart from some of the other films we watched. The only one you could really compare it to is "Eat Drink Man Woman," once again in the opening scene. However, a difference between the two would be that in "Eat Drink Man Woman" there seems to be a focus on the few sounds that accompany the silence, while in "Blind Shaft" the focus in entirely on the silence, and pays little if no attention to the background noises.
It is worth noting, on page 213 of the Li Yang Interview, Yang refers to his schooling in China and says, "I went there to learn, but there was only so much that environment could offer me" (Li Yang Interview, p. 213). I believe that this constant desire for different and new experiences helped him to seek new thinking in his films, and make this film the quality movie that it was.
It is really good you associate the background silence with the mundane and repetitive nature of their jobs. That could make audience think a lot about film itself.
DeleteAfter I watch this film, I can feel there is another world that I have never experienced before. It mainly talked about the story in 2002 winter, happened in a mine. Song and Tang worked in a mine and they kill someone instead of working accident to blackmail their boss. The beginning of this film really surprised me, I thought they just exchanged banter with each other but when I feel they were serious, I think it is unbelievable. We can know one life of people is only worth 28000 RMB. However, Song is not so bad, he still has his own conscience, and he still cared about his family. After he went whoring, he thought he waste 100 and it could be useful to his children. At the end, he did not want to kill Yuan, I think the most important reason is because he is really young and the age is like his son.
ReplyDeleteAt that time, there are lots of mines in some parts of China; bosses can make lots of money. They do not care about lives, the only thing is money. Song and Tang used this psychology because even if someone died in the mine, on one else outside would know. This film was banned in China but I think it is real and Chinese government knows this is real and they do not want it to be public.
I think you are right on when you talk about the unbelievable aspect to the film, and to think they have been doing it long before the film was made, by the characters I mean. Ialso think it's key to know how much the bosses didn't care about lives but only money. And that showed clearly throughout the film.
DeleteBlind Shaft exposes the gritty underworld of state-controlled capitalism. It's little wonder why it was banned in China; the film exposes a system so backwards that corruption is seen as an everyday normality and not an extreme case of moral depravity. Speaking of moral depravity, Song and Tang take the cake for world's most morally bankrupt partnership. Blowing through extortion money on prostitutes and liquor, the film illustrates the darker side of survival. At least in the end (my favorite scene), there seemed to be a change of heart in Song, which allowed the boy to be saved. The gritty realism and the way they shot the film without the use of a tripod all add to the bitter flavor of the film. Even though the ending was a little bit predictable, the message lost none of its impact. Economic opportunism was (and is) alive and well in China, and the engine will keep on churning.
ReplyDeleteThe abundance of silence reminded me of Eat Drink Man Woman, while the gritty cinematography took me back to Millennium Mambo. The fast paced style was reminiscent of The Killer. It's difficult to pick just one movie, so I'll just say that it's a hybrid of many of the movies we've watched so far.
I think it's interesting how "bankrupt" this industry is, but how much money they put out just so the government won't find out. I wonder where that money comes from. It's crazy to think that people could actually get away with that sort of stuff. And it's not surprising why it was banned in China!
DeleteThis film has a very bold premise and the way it is presented is heavy. It is different in tone than other films we have seen up until now, and this is clearly intentional. The directory, Li Yang, quit college early on to go study abroad in Germany. He believed that chinese films up until now ere "pretentious and unnatural", and wanted to explore the western approach to filmography (pg. 213). Although fiction, the well-executed documentary-style approach gives it a sense of authenticity. This makes sense, since Li directed three documentary films before Blind Shaft.
ReplyDeleteThe premise of this film is disturbing: two miners trick innocent young men into working in the mines, then murder so they can extort money from the mine captain. It is definitely more interesting than previous films, but the rugged documentary style tend to overstay its welcome. This film is most reminiscent of Millennium Mambo in style, and like Millennium Mambo I find that it gets a bit monotonous after the first half-hour. That is probably the reason why the most memorable scene for me is at the beginning of the film, when the mine captain desperately tries to stop Tang and Song from reporting the "accident" to the police, not realizing he is playing into their hands. The camera pans around hectically as they try to negotiate a a coverup. You can tell the captain has his own suspicions as this clearly wasn't the first "accident" involving Tang and Song. The acting in that scene was quite convincing.
And the cuts are rapid and quick, like a fight scene from a John Woo film. In the latter parts of the film, the camera is steadier, and shots feel longer. I wondered if the boss was 'playing into their hands' or was aware of the unspoken terms of the agreement in the extortion, and was more willing to pay their fee than go to the authorities and lose more money.
DeleteI also think this film more like a documentary. It gives me a sense of authenticity. This film uses local language and the actors' acting is very good. All of these make this film closer and more authentic.
DeleteIn my opinion, this film compare with previous film, the largest difference is what it is a documentary film. It is talk about that this is a real events in china. It exposes and criticizes some reality in the poor or backward city. And the plot of movie is pretty compact, in other word, it is busy. In the film, everyone is busy. you can found neither Tang Chaoyang nor Song Jingming, or Miners, prostitute , all people are bustling about making money diligently.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, the film describes a story that is happening to a mining area. The miner (Song Jingming and Tang Chaoyang) make money by harming others. Firstly, they make miners as their relatives, lured to mine, and then kill them under the mine, create an illusion like the accident of mine. Lastly, they will demand the compensation as the facilities of workers for master of mine. They were successful again and again. The money makes them whose was utterly devoid of conscience. However, there is a small boy who is their target , this moment, the feeling of Song Jingming has some changed suddenly, he couldn’t decide between perpetrators and protection.
However, the most memorable scene is what they (Tang and Song) go to whore after getting indemnity. In the film, they go to whore, Song is quickly finished, but Tang is long, and he repeatedly said “these 100 dollars, I’d better give my child to study”. Through this detail, we can see what Song is more cruel and numb rather than Tang, and Tang still has some realistic and evil oppression in his subconscious. This is why they have difference in their plan. This difference leads them to fight then died eventually. And reveal an ironic story at the end.
Another scene that is interesting is when the two murderers are eating, they discuss their sons, and Song's is diligent and smart (or so he thinks) while Tang freely admits his son isn't, even comparing his son to himself. Maybe his lack of the same 'humanity' that redeems Song in our eyes is his son not fulfilling the expected role of smart and bright. That alienation and rejection could explain the differences in character.
DeleteBlind Shaft has a lot of fertile ground for interpretation. As Li Yang said, "I wanted the film to leave some space for the audience to reflect on later." (Berry 220) Details concerning whether or not Yuan Fengming's father was the previous victim, or why Fengming signs for the blood money at the end, or whether Song wants to be good all have plenty of wiggle room to allow viewers to fill in the space with their own imagination.
ReplyDeleteI want to cast attention back to a previous reading, "This displacement constitutes a process that in many ways resembles the primitive accumulation of capital: it impoverishes and uproots the peasant population and pushes them to embrace the dream of individual freedom and prosperity, and will eventually turn them into an urban proletariat whose body is prepared for capital's extraction of its commodity labour power." (Xu 17) What is interesting about this quote in regard to Blind Shaft, is that rather than waiting for the 'body' of peasants to becomes harvestable, Song and Tang harvest their bodies in a more literal sense. Because of their own alienation from power structures and from ties to places, they are free to emulate those in positions above them. Just as the mine bosses and corrupt officials take advantage of the people who are incapable of retaliating, Tang ans Song take advantage of the unsuspecting worker who expects them to occupy the same position that they do, as just another worker content to work hard for meager pay in a system that benefits those at the top immeasurably more than those working. Tang ans Song become a parasite upon the system, because being a parasite is better than being the thing sucked dry. When 2 weeks work can produce 30,000 yuan, why would you work a month for less than 1,000 yuan? Their scheme and con-job makes hard sense when measured by the numbers, but as we see the essential element of it, the human messes with the math. This film is an excellent characterization of how people can be completely relatable, yet remorselessly driven when it comes to money.
Another detail I want to touch on was the narrative structure. I cannot overstate how strongly it reminded me of the Brother's Grimm fairy tales in structure. The scenes where Tang and Song discuss killing Fengming are very storytale-esque. Two times does Song delay the inevitable by referencing things that *must* be done first, sex and drinking. Coming with his German background, Li Yang must surely have been exposed to some format of those historic fair tales, and in turn been influences by them.
I like your take on Song and Tang's disposition, and why they prey on others similarly oppressed by the system. Though, I'd think murdering a fellow human-being for monetary gain with that kind of resolve is more than just them coping with hard times -- it's psychotic, even.
DeleteI found this movie to be extremely memorable and also much different that anything we have seen up to this point. The relationship triangle that we talked about last class was apparent to me in this film. The two bad men, were not two for long, they always had their third wheel. I also find the morality aspect of this film to be clearly portrayed, and realistic. I thought overall this film was very realistic and didn't seem fake ever that I can remember. This film was very true to itself from the beginning stating a clear plot, which we haven't seen in a few weeks, and sticking to it throughout. It wash very coherent also which made it enjoyable. I think the final few scenes stick out to me most in how the boys morality was tested and how good sort of over ruled evil.
ReplyDeleteWhich brings me to the reading, I thought the reading was very insightful and fun to read. This idea of the film being an exploration of human nature was fascinating to me, because I hadn't thought about it like that before. Yang said, "everyone in this world has their good side and bad side" (Li Yang, 221). Then he goes on to talk more of this human nature and how the film is meant to show this contrast. In the reading it also told about how Li Yang went to some coal mines and actually experienced what it was like, and had an additional near death experience while he was at it. Lol. Overall the movie was one of my favorite despite the darkness of the film.
Blind Shaft was an interesting film. It was a story of two people Song and Tang who are miners. Working in such a dangerous place where it in common for many miners to get hurt, Song and Tang use this to their advantage and start killing people in the dark mines where no one could see them so that they could extort money from the Captain. This went on for a while until Song comes across a kindhearted miner and starts to grow a consciousness of what he was doing and tries to stop Tang resulting in their death and the boy escaping.
ReplyDeleteWhat i found interesting was the way the film began and grabbed everyones attention by being silent. I thought that it really set the mood for the film. people mechanically moving into the mines, head down, and dirt on their face even though the day just started. Li Yang mentions in his interview that the bedding the miners sleep in when he went on a visit is actually really dirty with actual coal imbedded in the sheets. (218). I think that he was able to accurately portray the conditions that miners were in in China.
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