Live Reading of Poetic Text: | Thursday 12.10 |
A poetic text written by Norwegian author Linda Gabrielsen based on the film will be presented live before the screening.
Out of the dark emerges an elderly naked man, gently walking through what turns out to be the exquisite and legendary Bouffes du Nord theatre in Paris. With a raw, open, and incredibly respectful approach, director Wang Bing has crafted an exquisite and highly original portrait of the legendary composer Wang Xilin. Completely stripped and entirely unfiltered, Xilin is given the opportunity to pour himself out and express his emotional history of being stifled by the Chinese regime. Through his body, his grand music, and a fireworks of a personality, he passionately rebels against his past, carrying the memory of tumultuous events from Chinese history on his shoulders.
Wang Bing invites the musician to literally bare all, rendering visible all he has been forced to endure. "The destruction of the body is the ultimate political punishment," the director explains. "I wanted to shine a light on a body that has suffered through all these trials.
