Movie Digest
Florence Chia-Ying Yeh, a master of Chinese classical poetry, is the subject of the documentary “Like the Dyer’s Hand”. She endured war and political persecution and spent many years abroad. After returning to China later in life, Yeh continued to produce, inherit, teach, and restore the lifeline of traditional poetry that had been disrupted by China’s Cultural Revolution. Yeh’s most notable research masterpiece is Du Fu’s Eight Episodes of Qiu Xing. Qiu Xing’s eight poems describe the emergence and fall of China’s rich Tang Dynasty. This is utilized as a metaphor for Yeh’s own troubled years. Somei Sato composes the soundtrack for this documentary based on Qiu Xing’s eight poems, combining exquisite and modern music to give new life to Du Fu’s poetry.
The Feel-Good Part
This film captures the artistic conception of Yeh’s poems, and the most important thing is the inheritance of the poetry culture. Why do we keep reading poems? What power does each word possess? It can assist us in overcoming the challenges of leaving our nation and banishing the gloom of life. That is exactly the vibe the movie is going for. The soundtrack complements the poems/letters that appear as subtitles. That coupled with the visuals is a magnificent combination. Seeing the interviews by Ms. Yeh herself makes you feel closer to the movie and you can relate to the subject on a more intimate level. Most importantly, unlike several other documentaries, this documentary has a very positive tone to it and makes you smile unconsciously.
The Disappointing Factor
Ms. Ye’s life narrative is amazing, and it cannot be dull, no matter how someone films it. However, the lack of a narrative main thread and a significant number of empty mirrors with uncertain meanings, similar to a pile of literary materials, made the two hours spent watching the film extremely painful. The whole storyline is not recounted in a traditional chronological order hence the viewer tends to get a little confused as to how the film is progressing.
In-Depth Analysis
The idea behind the film is unique and the way it was produced has a certain artistic touch to it although it technically is a documentary. Such a record has a high collector’s value. Although the poems are brief, the aftertaste is lengthy. The image’s potential beauty is harsh and degraded. The production team along with the cast and the director has done a great job. The writer’s life is narrated alongside beautiful imagery and the soundtrack is absolutely perfect for the film. Although the narrative can seem a little haywire, even the chaos comes together like a poem!
Star Power
Director Tsun-Shing Chen is known for his indie films and documentaries. Like his other works he has done a good job with “Like the Dyer’s Hand”. There are no notable actors per se in the film since it is a documentary. But, there are interviews with several notable people from the field of literature and arts. Like Professor Stephen Owen from Harvard or Professor Zhang Jing from Nankai University, several other academicians and poets have been inspired by Ms. Yeh. They all speak of their own experiences with her work and herself as a person. All their accounts seem so real and their admiration for her is really endearing.
Overall Opinion
“Life is like a dream”, Ms. Florence Chia-Ying Yeh says in the documentary and that is exactly how I can describe the film to you. It feels like you are listening to some faraway dream from another lifetime in another world. Yet, this person is very much real and she shares her story with us in this lovely film. This film is certainly not for everyone but if you have a deep appreciation of art and culture, especially literature then you are bound to not be disappointed.
