Win in China

The title of Ole Schell's documentary is identical to that of China's first-ever reality TV show, in which teams of would-be entrepreneurs compete to win $5 million to finance a new business plan. The program plays like a Chinese riff on The Apprentice, albeit with a greater focus on entrepreneurial strategies rather than contestant showboating (lacking a Donald Trump personality, a panel of tycoons serve as judges). The show quickly became a learning experience for everyone involved, including the go-getter competitors, the government-controlled CCTV network caught off-guard by the popularity of the episodes, and the Chinese public, who literally had never seen anything quite like it. Win in China offers an interesting perspective on China's curious commercial environment, where an aggressive hunger for the individual-oriented rewards of a capitalist economy coexists with a communist government. While the documentary doesn't cover the harshly negative aspects of the Chinese economic machine (including painfully low wages, environmental hazards, lack of transparency in too many industries, and state-imposed roadblocks to progress), it does provide an intriguing look at what makes part of today's China tick. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)