Moving the Mountain

Released 1994
Stars Li Lu, Wu'er Kaixi, Wang Chaohua, Chai Ling
Directed by Michael Apted

The larger story of Tiananmen Square has been told many times, symbolized by a remarkable live shot of a single student facing down the approach of a tank. What this film documents are some of the smaller stories that went into it. Apted talks to several of the key leaders, who still express disbelief that the People's Army would fire on Chinese citizens, and who blame themselves (sometimes with tears) for not being "adequate" to protect the lives of their followers.

"Moving the Mountain" is not as gripping as it perhaps could have been, because Apted does not have access to footage from the square he no doubt would have liked to include (such footage probably has not survived). What he does have is extraordinary, however, and at a time when China's human rights policies are again in the air, and the annexation of Hong Kong grows closer, "Moving the Mountain" is an extraordinary glimpse behind the scenes of a country lurching with difficulty toward democracy.

Summary by Roger Ebert

Who doesn't remember the student standing in front of the column of tanks refusing to move? That shot is burned into my memory. What I remember most from watching it on CNN was how long he stood there. It was at least three agonizing minutes. I remember feeling nauseous waiting for the standoff to end with his death or arrest. I didn't think the military would tolerate such brazen defiance. In the end, they didn't. One of the student leaders implied the estimated death toll to be 12,000. Of course, no one knows for sure. According to the Chinese government, there were no fatalities or injuries, which is exactly what the students and citizens were demonstrating against--the complete disregard of the government for its people and the suppression of the truth.

This is a fascinating film that shows how a small memorial service for a sympathetic government official grew into an enormous demonstration in Beijing with smaller demonstrations in other large cities. It's interesting to see how these young college students were thrown into leadership roles that they were not capable of performing. Today they blame their own naiveté for leading so many to their deaths.

At times, this film is heartbreaking. It does an excellent job of showing the state of mind of the people in 1989. It starts with Li Lu's story as an infant at the start of the Cultural Revolution, and through his life story we get a glimpse of the despair that led to the demonstration. Although they were very naive, they actually had a chance for real change. After all, similar groundswells led to the Berlin wall being torn down and eventually the collapse of the Soviet Union. China is a very different bird, however, and change will be more gradual. Everyone who took part in the demonstrations should realize they did have an effect, and the terrible loss of life was not in vain. China is quite different today than in 1989, and change is slowly continuing.

My only quibble with this film was its use of the footage of the young man standing in front of the tank. This is the money shot. It was the symbol which electrified the world. It encapsulated the resolve and sincerity of the students, and Apted decided to use just a few seconds of it at the beginning and at the end. It was obviously a conscious decision to not show the entire incident. I would have liked to have seen it though, because it was one of the bravest acts ever captured on video. -- Bill Alward June 6, 2001