Signis

24 City

(JPEG) (Competition. China. Director, Jia Zhang Ke)

A serious and seriously-paced Chinese documentary on the transition of a large armaments factory to new premises, the demolition of the old building and the reminiscences of managers and workers and people associated with the factory over the years. The three generations of women presented are not actual characters but actresses performing. The site is to be used for re-development and a 5 star hotel, 24 City. The location is the Chinese city of Chengdu.

No Michael Moore histrionics or intrusions here. No Morgan Spurlock expose, humour or banter here. The series of interviews, quite long and detailed, of men and women are beautifully mounted and framed. There are momentary inserts of action, like scenes of smelting or a young girl roller-skating. But, it is mainly listening attentively to the talking heads.

The factory was part of state secret activity, especially for armaments and repairs to planes from the time of the Korean War. It continued to grow until the 70s and war with Vietnam. When arms needs fell (this comes as something of a surprise because China is still an arms supplier around the world), the factory changed to household goods like fridges and washing machines but it still wanted (and wants) to maintain its standards in aeronautics. Workers born in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s bring their working era to life though their memories.

What is revealed is something of the history of Communist China from the 1950s and its adoption of socialism, the cultural revolution and more recent changes that have absorbed a great deal of capitalist ethos. This is especially true of the final (fictional but very real) interviewee who was born in 1982, is a fashion buyer in Hong Kong for the rich women of the city and hopes to manage a revolving restaurant at the top of a Chengdu tower.

Director Jia Zhang Ke has a reputation for documentaries and won the Venice Golden Lion for his fiction feature on the building of the Three Gorges Dam, Still Life.

Peter Malone