Her voice sounds OK, but director Hao Wu shows us what I think is a vocoder – is that the audio equivalent of plastic surgery? Shen admits that she has had plenty of surgery, too. I use quotes above because we don’t hear many of Li’s jokes or Shen’s songs. The People’s Republic of Desire concentrates on “comedian” Big Li, “singer” Shen Man, their families and their fans. Collectively, the fans call themselves an “army.” Following the stars, and helping to support them, brings some pleasure to their otherwise boring and difficult lives. Other fans are quite poor themselves, but they feel a sense of solidarity with the stars, who were once as poor as they are. (If they succumb, the gifts will stop, the guys will blab, and millions of people will accuse them of being sluttish.) The celebrities walk a tightrope, flirting and teasing without satisfying these guys. In the case of female celebrities, many of the (male) patrons want to sleep with them. Being a generous patron brings them fame, too. Some of those fans are filthy rich, and they support their favourite star because they have so much money that they can afford to throw it away. Of course, we later find out that fame can be fickle.) (I’ll confess, while watching the first few minutes of the film I wondered if “success” could really be this easy? During the Q&A, I found out that I was not the only one. Some people from very humble beginnings have become rich and famous because they are very good at cajoling, begging, browbeating their fans into sending them gifts and money, lots of money. The People’s Republic of Desire is a fascinating (and sad, disturbing and depressing) introduction to China’s livestreaming celebrities. Livestreaming celebrity Shen Man in a scene from the documentary film The People’s Republic of Desire. Screening presented with English Subtitles I imagine that one COULD watch Part 2 without seeing Part 1.Ĭinémathèque Québécoise – Salle Fernand-Seguin I will watch this on Saturday and report back. (One is tempted to say: quite well.)Īnd one from Toronto’s NOW: “it’s an overwhelming and damning portrait, but the film’s power lies in heartbreaking, idiosyncratic and overlapping details.” it does just what a movie that’s this long should: It uses its intimate sprawl to catalyze your view of something - in this case, how the totalitarianism of the 20th century actually worked. ![]() isn’t just making a historical documentary he’s using oral memoir to forge an artifact of history. Here is a quote from Variety: “Wang Bing’s ‘Dead Souls’ is a powerfully sobering and clear-eyed investigation that justifies its length through the gravity and presence of its testimony. You can read 13 favourable reviews there. ![]() A ticket for Saturday’s screening is good for Sunday’s as well.ĭead Souls has a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. RIDM is presenting Dead Souls in two parts, over two days, Saturday Nov. The remains abandoned in the Gobi Desert remind us of the staggering death toll.”Ī long story, with many victims, takes a long time to tell. Through survivors’ chilling stories, Wang exposes the cruelty inmates experienced and, especially, the workings of the implacable and terrifying political machine that set out, in the mid-1950s, to crush all opposition both real and imagined. A painstaking compilation of testimonials, as precise as they are devastating, Dead Souls is a crucially important historical document.Wang Bing looks back at China’s post-war reeducation camps. Here’s an extract from the synopsis on the RIDM web site: “Wang Bing’s latest work is more than just a film. UPDATE: After watching the first half of this documentary I can say that it did not seem long at all, and it certainly was not boring.ĭead Souls (Ames Mortes for the version with French subtitles) is a documentary by acclaimed Chinese cineaste Wang Bing. ![]() Wang Bing’s documentary Dead Souls tells the story of China’s deadly re-education camps.
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