Released 1993
Stars Tian Yi, Wenyao Zhang, Xiaoman Chen, Liping Lu, Quanxin Pu, Xuejian Li
Directed by Zhuangzhuang Tian

"I finished shooting The Blue Kite in 1992. But while I was involved in post-production, several official organizations involved with China's film industry screened the film. They decided that it had a problem concerning its political 'leanings,' and prevented its completion. The fact that it can appear today seems like a miracle... The stories in the film are real, and they are related with total sincerity. What worries me is that it is precisely a fear of reality and sincerity that has led to the ban on such stories being told." - Tian Zhuangzhuang, director of "The Blue Kite"

During a period which has given us one great Chinese film after another, here is one of the most extraordinary, a sweep of modern Chinese history seen through the eyes of a single family. Much of the story takes place in the apartments around a small courtyard in Beijing, where the hero, Tietou ("Iron Head") is born in the early 1950s. Events from the outside world, such as the death of Stalin, seem remote compared to the urgency of their daily lives.

"The Blue Kite" follows its characters from the 1950s until the late 1960s, and the Cultural Revolution. And during all of that time, it demonstrates, ordinary life was impossible because a series of political manias swept the land, and zealots sought out those who did not conform, and punished them. At times there is a looking-glass quality to the political movements: Citizens are found guilty because of behavior which only yesterday was proper and correct.

"The Blue Kite" is a film made out of daily lives and universal impulses - to form and care for a family, to watch over a child, to be able to depend on parents. The story is narrated by Tietou, who at one point confesses that the more he considers what happened to his family, the less he understands it. It is a shame the Chinese government will not allow this film to be shown in China, because I suspect it would touch a nerve something like "Forrest Gump" touched here. It gives us a protagonist who is buffeted by the winds of politics and chance - but whose basic human values and needs never change.

Summary By Roger Ebert

It's amazing that this film was allowed to be finished. The Chinese government allows no criticism of itself, past or present, and this film is highly critical of Mao's Cultural Revolution. It may be difficult to follow if you don't know basic Chinese history. I was fortunate to have taken a Far East History class in college that gave me all the background I needed, but it's still possible to enjoy this wonderful film without that knowledge--it will just be a little confusing. The important thing to know is all of these things happened. Bill Alward