He is part ancient troubadour and part Andrew
Dice Clay. Er Housheng is a rambling performer of Er Ren Tai “folk opera,” who
has a something of a folk following in Inner Mongolia. The instrumentation is
different, but American audiences well steeped in rap music should be able to
relate to the sexually charged one-upping duets the blind Er performs with his
ambiguous partner. Xu Fong follows Er through the unhomogenized,
rough-and-tumble Northern Chinese province in Cut Out the Eyes, which screens as part of Cinema on the Edge, the
retrospective tribute to the Beijing Independent Film Festival.
Before he was blinded, Er Housheng was
apparently quite the ladies’ man. There was indeed a cause-and-effect
relationship between these two states of being, as the title suggests and Er
himself explains in a no-holds-barred closing performance. He is still a dirty
old man, who excels at improvising lyrics so suggestive they really do not
qualify as double entendre. He also talks pretty explicitly to his various
lovers. His relationships are rather complex, but informal. That definitely
includes the arrangements with his current duet partner, Liu Lanlan.
If Er Housheng were not such a salty old dog,
one might be tempted to describe him as an inspirational figure. However, Er
does not want anyone’s sympathy and he hardly sees himself as a role model. He
is an unrepentant scoundrel and he is not done yet. One could probably make an
epic Flashman-like film out of his exploits, but Xu opts for an intimate
approach. Logically, it is through his revealing lyrics that we can best get to
know the earthy raconteur.
Seriously, this is not a film for children or
the easily offended. Er could go toe-to-toe with 2 Live Crew. Yet, his life of
passion and lawlessness seems like a throwback to the Wild West. Some of his
makeshift performance stages even have a medicine show vibe. Needless to say,
Er might not be the most reliable of narrators, but the most significant parts
of his story are obviously true.
Accompanied by the dizi flute, hammered
yangqin, and sometimes the trumpet like suona, Er Ren Tai clearly privileges lyrical
interpretation and extemporization over instrumental virtuosity, which is
unfortunate for some of the very talented musicians who get brief solo
spotlights in Eyes. World music
listeners should nonetheless find plenty to enjoy, but Xu’s doc is more of a
character study—and Er is quite the character.
