Movie Digest
One Second is the encounter of a fugitive from the era of China’s cultural revolution. Set in the midst of Mao Zedong’s cultural revolution, we are invited to look into the imprint of incidents the director of this film Zhang Yimou witnessed in his childhood. Zhang Yimou grew up in a tumultuous time, his works are all testimony to his memories of growing up. This movie is about a fugitive who is an escapee from a farm prison and encounters a female vagabond as the two fight to get their hands on a film reel. The girl wants the reel to get celluloid, so she can make her ill brother a lamp he wanted. On the other hand, the man wants the newsreel because his family renounced him and he heard that reel has a small glimpse of his daughter. After all the years of being incarcerated he wanted to see what his daughter looked like.
The Feel-Good Part
The film’s title is perfect fit to the desires of our main lead. He wants to just watch the one second in the newsreel where his daughter appears. This film as is Yimou’s works are all haunted by the essence of the cultural revolution in China. Although in recent years the filmmaker is called a sell-out to the government, you cannot deny the indelible effect the cultural revolution led on the mind of the filmmaker. We are invited into the film through frames of sand dunes and a lone man. This is signifying the mindset of the people of those times. The film very beautifully captures the relationship between the vagabond Liu and the lead. Liu has moments in the film where she tries to drag authorities’ attention toward her and the lead in the duration of arguments. This sends the man into a panic every time since he is an escapee nonetheless. It’s a film that ignored all the grandiose aspects of a cultural revolution and focused much on the sentiments of a civilian, a common man. Thinking about it how many times have we seen the impact of a revolution through the eyes of a commoner. If you want to write about war and its effects, it’s better explained through the imagery of the common man. Its visceral effects come to life when you see the elements of war wreaking havoc in the lives of people who have no control of what is happening around them. This film though set in the midst of a cultural revolution shows the tiny speck of sentiment and the journey of those that are deemed insignificant in the big picture.
The Disappointing Factor
There is not much to be disappointed by this movie unless you have strong political opinions over why the revolution occurred. Much like the public of the mainland has maintained that this film does show the side of the revolution led by Zedong that might prove to discredit China and her achievement. The director has grown up in those times and his love for films too arose from that as a result. The idea of watching a film in the revolutionary era was a big deal. Hence film reels and alike were a significant part of Yimou’s life growing up. It is a retelling of his memories as a child.
In-Depth Analysis
This film is the result of Zhang and his love for cinema. He grew up appreciating cinema in the politically sensitive times. He spun his love for cinema into a story of how a man who wants a glimpse of his estranged daughter, An orphan girl who has practical use of the reel, and the film reel operator whose love for cinema I s beyond boundaries. As intended this story gives a glimpse into why Yimou was inclined toward cinema. The film however was not free from government scrutiny which resulted in it being released two years later after the intended release. This film affirms that once a film reaches the audience, not the maker, not the producer, certainly not the government has any control over how the people will interpret it.
Star Power
This movie has actors Yi Zhang, Haocun Liu, and Fan Wei in the leading roles. Zhang also notable stated that he lost a lot of weight in order to prepare for this movie.
Overall Opinion
This film is as guttural as we can expect from Zhang Yimou. His signature style has flowed into the direction of this film as well making it to be categorized as an auteur film. This film captures the resilience in the storytelling of the layman. It shows the potential of storytelling and visual imagery. Give this film a watch to see how a political revolution impacts beyond the major players and down to the laymen of the country.
