Fang Qiangqiang (Bowen Dong) is a rebellious tyke who is dropped off at a grim boarding school by his father, than left to sink or swim, so to speak. What follows is a kind of brainwashing sicker than anything you'll see in "The Human Centipede" or "Audition."
The kids are teased with the superfluous exercise of receiving little red paper flowers for good behavior. All Qiang wants is the flowers, but his habitual bed-wetting and daily transgressions make the others immediately dislike him. Hence- no flowers. The boarding school is barren and cold, except for a few toys that don't look like they couldn't make the cut for the Goodwill donation box.
Immediately, it is established that all independent thought is squelched at this academy. The children are taught to eat, drink, poop, and sleep as one. These kids are being taught to be compliant, much to the horror of this free-thinking viewer. Meanwhile, Qiang stirs up trouble like a tiny Randall P. McMurphy, inciting rebellion when he convinces the impressionable children that strict Mrs. Li (Zhao Rui) is a tyke-eating monster.
This movie actually has a lot to say about values both Chinese and American. The scene where Mrs. Li goes ballistic about Qiang getting a female classmate to lift up her skirt so he can give her an 'injection' is particularly telling, as it is an unhealthy reaction to a natural exchange between children. Not only does she reprimand Qiang fiercely, she also resorts to name-calling to the girl for 'letting a boy take off her pants.'
However, I will say that the nudity bothered me, and before you say "That's your problem," let me ask you this- would you let your little boy, your brother, your nephew get undressed for a camera at this developmental age? And before you say "it's his rights," children of this age have no rights when it comes to 'choosing' to flaunt their body in front of the camera.
It would be different, of course, if the nudity were crucial to this plot. It isn't. Also, I'm almost certain they terrified the living s**t out of these children to get a performance. The tears of these toddlers are so incredibly real that the movie has almost a documentary feel. A good thing? Maybe, unless you take into account that no child this age can give a performance of this caliber. Either they're the best child actors ever. Or... there's something else going on here.
The film mirrors the totalitarian regime of the era, so that's food for thought, if you like that sort of thing. The children are adorable, if only they were fully clothed more often. Yeah, I've decided for sure. I'm rounding the rating off to a 5.5.
Rating-
5.5/10
Oh boy, thanks for the warning Steph, I don't think I want to see this one.
ReplyDeleteI am being honest here, I decided to read this review because the poster is in Japanese but it tells the story in China...that got me intrigued. But as I read, I started thinking you' ve picked poster from Japanese viewers.
ReplyDeleteAnyway...I don't like nudity on both grown ups and children, I can still take semi but not frontal one, I can take one scene but many scenes (main reason why I no longer watch Game of Throne). So, thank you for the warning. I will skip this one when I come accross it.
I have watched the movie already and i felt the same.
ReplyDeletethe filming involved too much child nudity to a point where i have been feeling shame.
too much violation of physical-psychological-spiritual boundaies, though with great lessons to the possibility of breaking of individuals' boundaireis possible by groups.
i wonder what theses kids will have top say to their parents/caretakes as they grow up and find out they have been used and exposed to the entire world'(audience).
it is a common habit also in the west to use children for commercial aims, and it is a big quesstion whether there is a law ,(an international opne), concerning children's rights and the protection of their physical/psychological/spiritual boundaies.