To Live

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To Live ★★★★ Huozhe 1994

Superb drama follows the lives of one family— weak but adaptable Fugui (You), his strongwilled wife Jiazhen (Li), and their young daughter and son—from prerevolutionary China in the 1940s through the ‘60s Cultural Revolution. Fugui loses the family fortune in the gambling houses, actually a blessing when the Communists come to power, and the family must struggle to survive financial and increasingly difficult political changes, where fate can change on a whim. Subtle saga about ordinary human lives reacting to terrifying conditions boasts extraordinary performances and evocative imagery. Adapted from the novel “Lifetimes” by Yu Hua. Chinese with subtitles. 130m/C VHS, DVD . CH Ge You, Gong Li, Niu Ben, Guo Tao, Jiang Wu; D: Yimou Zhang; W: Lu Wei, Yu Hua; C: Lu Yue; M: Jiping Zhao. British Acad. ‘94: Foreign Film; Cannes ‘94: Actor (You), Grand Jury Prize.

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