Filmmaker Sue Williams has made four award-winning films on China (three of which are in Zeitgeist's excellent China: A Century of Revolution boxed set). Filmed between 2004-07, Williams' fifth—Young & Restless in China—tracks nine men and women (all GenX or younger) struggling with their professional and personal lives in a nation that has undergone tremendous social and economic change since the era-defining (for these interviewees) Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. Narrated by Ming Wen (ER), this handsomely-shot film is set against the backdrop of busy preparations (including the destruction of almost all of Beijing's older neighborhoods) for China's global coming-out party, hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics. We follow entrepreneurs (an Internet café developer, the owner of an Internet tailor business, and a hotel builder), a doctor, an investment counselor, a public interest lawyer working on environmental issues, a hip hop rapper, a factory worker (Wei Zhanzan, who says “I live like a machine”), and a farmer, all of whom face various personal crises ranging from failed relationships to caring for aging parents. Interwoven throughout are incisive observations about the costs of doing business in China—where corruption and bribery are apparently commonplace (as one interviewee puts it: “fish have to live in water—if the water isn't clean, you have to get used to it”)—as well as insights into larger social issues (such as the fact that nearly 70% of the Chinese populace has no medical insurance). DVD extras include a four-minute promo reel for the film. An eye-opening portrait of contemporary younger adults in China, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)
Young & Restless in China
(2008) 106 min. In English & Mandarin w/English subtitles. DVD: $29.99. Zeitgeist Films (avail. from most distributors). Volume 23, Issue 5
Young & Restless in China
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