The One and the Eight (Film)

Yige he bage. 1983. Dir: Zhang Junzhao. Cinematography: Zhang Yimou.

Context:
Produced at Guangxi Film Studio. Based on an epic poem.


The Film:
This is a film which uses film language (cinematography, framing compositions, depth of field) to get across its meaning - dialogue is often sparse. For instance, in the first act of the film when the nine men are in jail: the 'one' is typically framed on his own (and also asymetrically, not in the centre of the frame) - this is a strong individual assured in his principles despite accusations against him. The 'eight' on the other hand are often cramped together, sometimes as many as 4 or 5 in the same frame - they are a group, a collective, but not a cohesive, unified one, they are essentially a rabble and clearly guilty of the charges against them. The 'one' is thus privileged as the hero of the piece, and his strong individual personality is put to the forefront, while the 'eight' are essentially weak men, confused at best, cowardly at worst. In this simple dichotomy of individual vs. collective, of conformity vs. non-conformity can perhaps be read a radical rejection of fundamental CCP doctrines, or at the very least of the paranoid purges of the Cultural Revolution.
The film, after an opening credits montage with voiceover narration introducing the historical context, begins on a shot of earth before tilting upwards to fill the frame with sky. This cinematography announces Zhang Yimou's style, which he'd use to even greater effect in Yellow Earth, a film in which the visual dichotomy between the land and the heavens plays a major role.


Reception:
The film was met with censorship issues, as the Film Bureau objected to the depiction of the falsely accused Communist officer and his treatment at the hand of his own party. The film was also criticised for supposedly downplaying the role ofthe Communist army during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-45), essentially undermining the romantic myths which the ruling CCP aimed to foster about the past.
Changes were demanded of the film before it could be released, which eventually happened after the release of Yellow Earth - meaning that the latter was the first film to have impact and influence on Chinese film in the '80s. These changes included cuts as well as completely re-shot scenes. The revised version thus altered much of the film's original meaning. Domestically it then went on to some small commercial success, but internationally was banned from export until 1987.

Ni Zhen: "This change [in film style/language] was not an attack on their predecessors, however, but a natural evolutionary consequence of the growing sense of cinematic specificity --- as well as individual identity --- in the 1980s."

References:
Rayns, Perspectives on Chinese Cinema, 108.
https://cinescopeblog.wordpress.com/2014/09/23/the-chinese-new-wave-the-one-and-the-eight-1983/