This early Chinese ethnographic film documents festivals of the Yiche people of the Hani ethnic group -- their folklore and cultural phenomena, such as reproductive worship dance; their collective socializing on festival nights and marriage customs; and the "haruzhe," which has both characteristics of blood sacrifice and prayer, a ritual to offering for a good harvest. The directorial debut of documentarian Hao Yuejun, the film uses the language of documentary but with a specifically ethnographic focus on history and customs, and is recognized as an important historical work in its own right for 'restarting' ethnographic filmmaking after the end of the Cultural Revolution; in fact, this particular method of had never been used in China before.
The weekly brass band rehearsal is an enjoyable, light-hearted occasion. Then Mathew, the conductor, introduces James, a newcomer to the village, who is an enthusiastic bandsman from the north, where they do these things properly.
25 years ago a mother and father went missing and were presumed murdered on Wolfe Island and their bodies never found, and now a tabloid journalist and a woman who may have a connection to the Island are out to find out Whodunit?
Maria since childhood was directed by her father to become a nun. As a result of her father's cultivation of a rigid appreciation, Maria always feels awkward, including the delinquency that is common for a girl.
This film deals with the contrasts of the Wilhelminian era in Berlin: the splendor of the monarchy, the economic and intellectual vitality of the up-and-coming imperial capital on the one hand, and the misery of the proletarians in the tenements on the other.
Jessica's promising debut as a young artist is shattered by a sudden and violent death. She escapes into a restless succession of journeys whose encounters along the way bring humour, some comfort, but also danger.
Writes Viola: "Sodium Vapor was recorded over a period of several weeks in the hours between one and five in the morning on the streets of an industrial area in lower Manhattan.
On March 16, 1978, far-left terrorists of the Red Brigades kidnap Aldo Moro, leader of the Christian Democracy, the ruling party in Italy since the end of WWII.
In this film, Humbert is on the trail of his own history. Wolfsgrub is the name of the house where Humbert's mother lives, and though she is getting on in years, she becomes young again as she answers her son's questions.
Comments
Have you watched The Carnivals of Life — An Introduction to the Festivals of the Yiche People yet? What did you think about it?
