![]() He is nicknamed by an aunt "Tietou," meaning "iron head." It is Tietou's story that is most effective in showing the injustice of the Communist system. Tietou is presented as a head-strong, stubborn, and troublesome child, from infancy to adolescence. ![]() Rather, Tietou stands as a metaphor and a narrator for what happens to those with just natural rebellion in the heart, let alone political rebellion. The narrator of the film is Tietou (played by Yi Tian as an infant, Zhang Wenyao as a young boy, and Chen Xiaoman as an adolescent), but the film isn't told strictly from his point of view, as a "coming of age" story would be told. Now available on DVD through Kino on Video, The Blue Kite tells the story of how a middle class family is affected by the Communist government's repressive practices and the brutal winds of change. Tian recounted that while he was still in post-production, Party-sanctioned organizations screened the film and refused to release it, since they "had a problem concerning its political 'leanings.'" The fact that this film was released at all remains a miracle. Any film that speaks of criticism of China's ruling Communist government is courageous, and the fact that the film was even released at all is extraordinary. "The most amazing act of political courage I have ever seen in the cinema," wrote renown film critic Andrew Sarris in the New York Observer of director Tian Zhuangzhuang's 1993 film The Blue Kite. ![]()
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