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In China, it is simply known as "The River." But the Yangtze--and all of the life that surrounds it--is undergoing a truly astonishing transformation wrought by the largest hydroelectric project in history, the Three Gorges Dam. Canadian documentary filmmaker Yung Chang returns to the gorgeous, now-disappearing landscape of his grandfather's youth to trace the surreal life of a "farewell cruise" that traverses the gargantuan waterway.
With Altmanesque narrative agility, a humanist gaze and wry wit, Chang's Upstairs Downstairs approach beautifully captures the microcosmic society of the luxury liner. Below deck: A bewildered young girl trains as a dishwasher--sent to work by her peasant family, who is on the verge of relocation from the encroaching floodwaters. Above deck: A phalanx of wealthy international tourists set sail to catch a last glance of a country in dramatic flux. The teenaged employees who serve and entertain them--now tagged with new Westernized names like "Cindy" and "Jerry" by upper management--warily grasp at the prospect of a more prosperous future.
(Verleiher-Text)
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“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the bitterest." The huge Three Gorges Dam. Over five million displaced (either because they lived in the flood zone during construction or due to landslides after its completion) who had to bow to the needs of this nation of billions. A couple of cities and countless villages forgotten under the surface of the Yangtze. In some places the water level rose by six hundred feet. And a Canadian documentarian with Chinese roots, Yung Chang, decided to make a record of this disappearing old China. And he pleasantly surprised me right at the start. You won’t hear most of the above information. Because he approaches the situation from the point of view of a five-member family of peasants who lose everything. And he focuses more on the transformation of China and the Chinese mentality as such. On the one hand we have sixteen-year-old Yu Shui (alias Cindy) and on the other we have nineteen-year-old Chen Bo Yu (alias Jerry). Both come from completely different backgrounds. But both get jobs working on board a luxury cruise ship, although both for different reasons. Whatever direction this documentary takes, Yung Chang has surprises in store throughout. As a result, this jumps around from topic to topic, so you get the impression that it is a little confused, but it is always interesting and filmed perfectly in terms of form. Here and there it is spiced up with some humorous scene (cruise ship staff training about what not to talk about with foreign clients and “Potemkin villages"), but it shows that there is no good solution and overall the movie is pessimistic. Not to speak of the emotionally powerful ending. And the ending is even better for its lack of superfluous words. Like most of this documentary. Most of the time, Chang mainly communicates using atmosphere and attentive camerawork. It’s far from being a flawless documentary. It has many faults and I’m sure that it lulled many a viewer to sleep. But not me. Thank god.
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