Even
though Chinese opera has a long tradition, all but eight so-called “model
operas” were banned during the Cultural Revolution. Not surprisingly, comic
books faced a similar, but possibly more stringent prohibition. Yet, a
mysterious man will spark a young boy’s interest in both, despite the
oppressive conditions mandated by the Gang of Four in Haixu Liu’s short film Beyond the Curtain (trailer here), which
screens during this year’s Winter Film Awards.
Hai’s
family has relocated to the provinces, but they have largely been spared the
worst of the Cultural Revolution. They certainly seem to be sufficiently poor,
since Hai lacks even the simple toys enjoyed by his classmates. One day, a
mysterious homeless man starts to take an interest in the boy, giving him a few
modest gifts, including a series of hand-drawn comic books that begins the
narrative of a dark and stormy operatic tale of courtly intrigue.
With
tragic inevitability, Hai’s comics and discovered. Consequently, his parents
and local cadres force him to denounce the homeless man. Although the resulting
guilt and shame will haunt Hai all his life, he will not understand the full significance
of his forced betrayal until he visits that same provincial village decades
later, returning as a successful opera director.
Curtain really is
bittersweet in the fullest sense of the word. While the pain from the Cultural
Revolution lingers, the inspiration stoked by the mysterious vagabond also has
a lasting, edifying effect. Somehow, Liu tightly bundles up every conceivable
emotional response in his potent happy-sad pay-off, getting key assists from
his small but talented ensemble. As young Hai, Zhiwen Zhang is arrestingly open
and earnest, while Xianli Meng is hauntingly dignified and sad as the homeless
man.
