Twin Bracelets is a film produced in 1990 by Cosmopolitan Film Productions Co., a Hong Kong-based company that is part of a film production conglomerate run by brothers Shaw who owns Studio Shaw Brothers. S.L.Wei noted that "Twin Bracelets are featured at international film festivals." He has won the "San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Award 1992 for Best Feature." John Charles calls twin bracelets "(a) grim, fascinating drama" that is "marred only by inescapable narratives." The film has been labeled as 'lesbian', but also a 'feminist' movie. Some critics also focus on what they take as its ethnological aspect. Such aspects do form the background of Zhaohuan Lu 'The Twin Bracelets' (1986) short story which became the basis of the script of the film written by film director Huang Yu-shan. Huang Yushan originally worked for Central Motion Picture Company (CMPC) and for Shaw Bros. is a director who has chosen to support independent films. In his life and work he is attached to feminism. According to BÃÆ'Ã… © rÃÆ'Ã… © nice Reynaud, she is "one of the rare women to work in the Taiwan film industry." Prof. Lai has called Huang Yu-shan as "Taiwan's main feminist director." S.L. Wei saw Huang as "an important voice in Taiwan female cinema.The fact that his film Twin Bracelet got considerable attention" enabled Huang to have an in-depth discussion with independent filmmakers and feminist American directors. From then on she began to push consciously to [with] films about women. "
Video Twin Bracelets
Film feminis
Twin Bracelets were shot in Hui An, a remote coastal village of Fujian (southern province of the People's Republic of China). The film is a harsh criticism of the special Chinese culture's 'virility', as observed in traditional coastal villages. In addition, we find poetic scenes depicting the softness of women, as found in girls and young women who have not succumbed to the so-called reality of life.
The two female protagonists, Hsiu and Hui-hua, have not given up their dreams as we watched them in the initial sequence of the film. But it is clear that they can not escape the pressure of the village community. Whatever their subjective longing, how can they turn a blind eye to the wishes of their closest family who are anchored in the tradition? We see that these expectations are in turn influenced by social customs and by the fear of gossip among neighbors. But also by the spontaneous understanding that social roles must be accepted if the family wants to meet the needs and if the local economy of the fishing village functions 'as it always does.'
When Hui-hua gives in to her family's hope that, at her age, she must marry and obey her husband, Xiu commits suicide. Those who surrender to 'state power' - others find only self-destructive paths. But this action expresses its rebellion, its protests and its rebellion, and lays down the source of the female hope alliance and the alternative vision it embodies. Instead of beating a wife, it is the caresses desired by this young man when they make their initial vows to each other that they will never marry. They have felt the injustices perpetuated in the game of the old master and slave, they do not want the words and deeds done by superiors and orders and leave no alternative. They want human respect, equality, a careful awareness of their individual needs. And for a short time, made possible by their affection for one another, they live that way, turning away from each other, experiencing the closed and intimate freedom of a genuine and reciprocal human relationship in their acceptance of their respective dignity. It's like exploitation that can give way to cooperation, the rule for freedom. This manifests, as the relationship of only two humans, the whole vision of how humans can live together.
As the film turns to intimate scenes that show the proximity of young women who understand their relationship in the traditional way, by seeing themselves as 'spouses', we begin to understand their affection for each other as necessary support. to fight the patriarchal social relationships that are wrong, ancient, that dominate the village community. It is the bond of affection between those who give them the strength to resist.
Maps Twin Bracelets
Formal movie language
Twin Bracelet, which is the second feature performed by Huang Yu-shan, is a caring and attentive film. In terms of the shape of the film, it is a conventional cinema. This is a narrative film, telling a story chronologically, without any flash background. Its attractiveness and significance are obviously due to the subject matter. How this problem was treated has made it attractive and, in the eyes of some viewers, a controversial film.
As a narrative cinema, Twin Bracelets depart, however, from Western norms. It is Chinese. This is especially evident in actresses who sometimes rely on certain limits on Chinese acting conventions that Western audiences hardly know. This sometimes causes irritation. It's hard to say who or what to blame in this case. Is that a Western denial of canons and other conventions other than their own rules? Is this a fact that filmmakers choose to work with what the company's product information describes as "newcomer players and crew"? Or a half-hearted Chinese director's dependence, at least in some scenes, at the Opera Chinese convention that has seeped into filming and, more roughly, into a soap opera?
It is clear that these are conventions by Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland spectators, as there are many films and soap operas that fulfill the purpose of entertainment, distraction and ideological indoctrination. They are stylish movements and movements that have long been fixed by the convention of investing with a fixed meaning. And they reappear even in everyday situations (thus, beyond television, drama, and movies) as stereotypical behavior. Girls for example have strange moves that symbolize the need to express shyness or a little embarrassment. They may depend on them when conventional morality (or their superego, Freudian 'ueber-ich') needs it. Reliable movement can be translated by Xi? xi? ?? ('I'm ashamed'). These ways of acting for some adaptations are diluted from Peking Opera's entirely formal and stylish repertoire of Peking conventions, or more rudely, but also more sincere varieties that exist in the form of local opera genres. The latter tend to be more down-to-earth and they are intended to address the sociocultural needs and tastes of the general public. (They are usually performed at night on makeshift stage in the public square or at street corners, the stage is protected by canvas against the rain.)
It is clear that the theory of 'modernist' Western art rejects these conventions, especially in its underrated form. Viktor Shklovsky would refer to them as "automatic" or "automated." It is also not too surprising if this acting seems excessive to Western audiences accustomed to naturalism Elia Kazan, John Ford, or John Huston. On the other hand, Western audiences receive a distinctive routine acting from the various shiny "naturalism" that today seem to define the professional acting norm in Hollywood.
Nothing to say about stylish acting. The author of the anti-naturalist theater and stage director Bert Brecht, who has great respect for Mei Lanfang, relied on him in his epic theater. So is the film director Brechtian, especially Daniele Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub (see Straub-Huillet). What can be said about the occasional Chinese convention's conviction acting in feature film Huang Yu-shan is that the acting is not quite stylish and that it is integrated in what essentially remains a naturalist film. Is that a jar? Is the occasional use of conventional and stylish acting almost unnoticed by Chinese audiences for being perceived as a 'normal' and 'naturalist' representation of how young Chinese women can 'act'? It remains open for debate.
Critical reception
See the Twins Bracelet as a lesbian movie
Discussing Twin Bracelets, a number of critics make lesbianism the main cause. Teri Silvio noted that the Twins Bracelet "is seen as a 'Lesbian film' in the United States and by some people in Taiwan." The filmmaker, in collaboration with Wang Chun-chi, explains it because "the way the film treats same-sex romance and friendship among women" is "taken as a Lesbian story" in the West. And Vivian Price said that "the representation of women's films that reject oppression resembles the lesbian utopia imaginable in the West." Marie K. Morohoshi stated in an interview that the Twins Bracelet, just like the other film he mentioned (The East is Red), has a "big gender balancing thing that happens throughout the movie... or subtext." In his view, the film is very 'obviously' lesbian that can not be anything but a lesbian. " According to Vivian Ng, who hates the fact that "one woman committed suicide at the end of the story," the film does not present a positive lesbian image. The same view is held by filmmaker Paul Lee.
Other critics in the West also focus on sexuality as the main subject of the film that is considered important. Referring specifically to Huang Yu-shan's Twins Bracelet, French film critic Bà © à © rà © Å © nice Reynaud assumes that his treatment of sexual desire is explained or at least partially influenced by the fact that he is one of the Taiwanese filmmakers who "spend some time abroad. " The tendency to exaggerate the sexual aspect of liberation strong in the West because of the Puritan western heritage that has been fanning guilt for centuries. In the context of East Asian societies characterized by the Confucian patriarchal ideology, it is shame, not guilt, it is a typical psychological reaction when the boundaries prescribed by traditional morality are crossed.
Lisa Odham Stokes and Michael Hoover emphasize more on "the oppression experienced by two women" and the fact that they are expected to submit to "arranging marriage." This confirms the feminist interpretation of the filmmakers.
Calling the Twins Bracelet as "extraordinary film", an author sees the film as "a very moving and tragic picture of a woman's struggle for independence." This at least recognizes the feminist orientation of the film. But then the writer goes on to say that it is also (or above all?) The struggle "for the love of another woman, deeply loves Hsiu, Hui-ha teases unashamedly with her" and "very jealous of the arranged Hsiu marriage." Such a view can be questioned by showing that Hsiu did not give her consent to voluntary and happy marriage but was subject to severe pressure. There is little reason to be jealous. Hui-hua has also been exposed to pressure by relatives who know that according to the villagers' habit he should be married. Now that her best friend is married, she feels that she's lost a comrade-in-arms. However, Hsiu opposes marriage as he, Hui-hua, still - and for the same reason. Both made the oath they promised each other that they would never give up and become obedient wives. Hui-hua instinctively knows that no woman (or man) who can be an island, can exist and is strong enough to fight alone (or himself): only a few can withstand the pressure alone. This aspect is not given sufficient attention by critics who interpret Hui-hua's despair as an expression of jealousy or the effects of sadness experienced by an abandoned lover. Further, different authors can clearly have different ideas about the meaning of "tempting without shame." Even for Western audiences, it should be clear that most of the time, Hui-hua and Hsiu's familiarity is rather indifferent and flirtatious. Yes, physical gentleness is important to them. But emotional attachment and recognition of resistance, both against the rudeness and male domination of potential marital couples in the village, are far more important.
In line with the interpretation of the film as a lesbian film, certain Western writers see the course of "inevitable" events as ideological relationships between sinful desires, thus guilt, and the necessary punishment. Thus, one writer feels that "Twin Bracelet by Huang Yu-Shan [...] deals with the impossible price to be paid as punishment for violation of conventional wishes." Presumably unaware of Chinese sociocultures that are not characterized by the abuse of Christianity against sexuality or are haunted by feelings of guilt associated with sexual desire, many Western critics typically underestimate the extent to which conflict with traditional customs and disrespect or rebellion against traditional authorities (government, superior, father, husband) are sanctioned. As long as lesbian love suspicions will be aroused in the village, it will be a departure from the convention, not a desire like that which will lead to disagreement. But the refusal to fulfill the conventional wishes of marriage and accept the role of a dutiful and obedient wife is clearly something that arouses greater ridicule than any revelation of desire. And that is a departure from the norm that leads to appropriate moral sanctions. Feminists such as Huang Yu-shan opposed this traditional worldview and thus opposed the ideology that always awakened the teachings of ancient Confucius while serving to maintain contemporary repressive social and political relations.
Ethnographic focus
According to Huang Yu-shan and Wang Chun-chi, "(t) he... Twin Bracelets are taken from the tradition of 'zishu nÃÆ'¼' ('women who combed their hair' - a term for self-sufficient women) in Hui'an , Fujian and its surroundings... "Lingzhen Wang writes that the film" focuses on the local tradition of Fujian female fraternity "or" female bond. "This seems to put an accent on a special constellation, rooted in the Huidong socioculture. In 1994, ethnologist Sara Friedman went to Fujian to do fieldwork in eastern Hui'an. Here he notes that married women are reluctant to visit her husband's home. In 1995 he conducted further research in Hui'an, staying for "eighteen months in Huidong village, Shanlin." While in Shanlin, Friedman showed a special interest in the type of group suicide, performed by women, "who inspired... Lu Zhaohuan wrote a short story 'Shuang zhuo' (Twin Bracelet) about the relationship between two women (s)... in a village of Huidong. "It is possible that Friedman's research interests fanned not only by the story but also by the wider Twin Bracelet film that also culminated in suicide, though not from two women but from one woman. Significant details that show the difference between Lu Zhaohuan's story adapted by the film director and the film made. It was Fran Martin who first pointed out the connection between Lu Zhaohuan's story 'Twin Bracelet' and Huang Yu-shan's film. He also gave a specific 'explanation' of opposition to the marriage exhibited by the young female protagonist of the film. According to him, it is "strict customs (marriage)" which "determines that husband and wife must live separately." Fran Martin thinks that "this film raises criticism of the harshness of local marriage customs." Thus he chose an ethically oriented approach. But he also broke the lesbian alternatives done by young protagonists for a while in his opinion. He writes that Huang Yu-shan is "setting this (rough wedding habit) against the bond of love between two women" who "swore to remain unmarried and live as 'siblings' (jiemei fuqi)" but his choice was ultimately "Defeated by the pressure against cross-sex marriage. " Given this interpretation it is not surprising that some writers with ties to Taiwan chose to portray the entire constellation as good or as a retarded expression still found in the People's Republic of China. Thus, an author suggests in the US-China Review that "(v) iewers of The Twin Bracelet" may of course "ask, in light of the contemporary setting of the film, whether this unusual social phenomenon still exists in China (...). "The implications of this passage are very clear: The film is either about the past or about places that certainly can not be identified as Taiwan. It caters to the taste of voyeur for exotic, strange. It is the idea that filmmakers strongly disagree with, however.
Fran Martin was not blind with a feminist impulse that motivated the choice of Zhaohuan Lu short stories. He noted that the girls objected to the "harsh patriarchal marriage habit." Now it is true that the film depicts the rough and violent behavior of men who are informed by patriarchal feelings of responsibility, while a woman must know her place and must obey. But such marriage habits, establish separate husband and wife homes, give women an unusual free space and a certain independent measure. The specific marriage customs of the Huidong ethnic group living in Fujian (SW China) is no longer matriarchal as did Yunuo based in Yunnan (also China SW). But it tends toward that, a fact that must have aroused the interest of the filmmakers in Huidong.
Huang may choose Mosuo's women as a positive example, if he wants to go to extremes in building a utopia (which does not exist - not even in Mosuo society). Instead, he chose people who work in contemporary Chinese coastal villages. Huidong Village, that's true. However, the filmmakers did not idealize anything related to Huidong this village. Nor did he investigate their habits in depth. Instead, he accentuated the rough facts of everyday relationships between men and women who were even here and that could be observed in Taiwan villages or working class neighborhoods, as well. He chose a situation he could criticize.
In pre-war China, influenced by the May 4th movement, progressive writers with sympathy for the cause of women chose that strategy as well. The authors of the period wrote a fierce description of the newly married Chinese women who were subject to the tyranny of their mother-in-law in their husbands' household. For husbands and their parents, they are often nothing more than a buffalo that pulls the plow. In other words, cheap female workers, and if they are lucky, are also mothers of future male descendants. To the parents of the girl who is 'sent' to the household of the young husband (who must be the father of the husband), the daughter who has left the parents 'home is' no more than a bucket of water, emptied at the door. 'In principle, the girl can not return to her parents, no matter how badly she is treated in her new home. To welcome him back will embarrass his parents.
This is an impulse to criticize the effects of patriarchal habits and structured patriarchal social relationships that make filmmakers not focus on the positive traits of the Huidong community, which allows women to live apart. Instead, we note that in the film, Hui-ha was criticized when she "run (s) home for her mother." It is a distinctive ingredient not of the outstanding Huidong community but of the traditional Chinese mainstream society.
The ethnological focus of certain film critics on the short story that precedes this film fends off criticism of China's patriarchal pattern that survives in mainstream society today, both on land and in Taiwan. Yushan Huang's adaptation of the story of Zhaohuan Lu can be compared with Brecht's adaptation of the old story which serves as the narrative plot of his work The Caucasian Chalk Circle. What seems far away in terms of time and place, in fact our own reality is subject to Brechtian's artistic device makes the familiar look familiar to allow new surveillance and discovery of everything scandal associated with it. Obviously, Zhaohuan Lu's storyline only serves as a pretext for film narration. This narrative focuses first, on the forcible submission of Hsiu to a tradition-based social custom and the male domination implies. And secondly, about the last tragic uprising of Hui-hua. But this rebellion is not represented as a lesson that can warn other women not to rebel, as some pro-Lesbian feminist critics have suggested. In contrast, the film's strategy, in this case, is fully in line with the critical writer's paradigm of tradition such as Ye Shengtao, Lao She, and Lu Xun. That Hui-hua sees no way out but commits suicide is a hot charge that befell the wrong society and who needs drastic change. Huang Yu-shan calls this "the strong protest of this film by way of a patriarchal ideology of oppressing women."
References
Literature
- Lin-zhen Wang (ed.), Chinese Women's Cinema. Transnational Context. New York (Columbia University Press) 2011
- Yingjin Zhang (ed.), A Chinese Cinema Assistant, Chichester UK (Blackwell) 2012
- Lisa Odham Stokes and Michael Hoover, City on Fire: Hong Kong Cinema. London (Verso) 1999
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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