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GOING
TO SCHOOL WITH FATHER ON MY BACK
AKA:
Going To School With Dad On My Back
Year:
1999 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
Once
again, Mainland Chinese cinema has presented viewers with
another masterful blend of the sublime and the simple. As with
so many of these enriching productions, the synopsis doesn't
quite do justice to the overall quality of the film, but these
are the necessities of a review.
With
scant resources and little support, a Chinese farmer resigns
himself to the fact that only one of his children can go to
school to get a highly-prized education. This leads to a game
of chance - spinning a wooden spoon - to decide who will get
this golden opportunity and who will stay on the farm. The
young son, Xi-Wa, wins ahead of his beloved older sister and
is therefore sent on the long journey to the school. At first,
Xi-Wa is unwilling to put the necessary efforts into his
studies and matters are not helped when he sees one of his
classmates drown in the flooded river he crosses every day.
After a severe reprimand from his father he finally realises
his potential as a scholar and etches out quite a reputation
in the village. However, Xi-Wa's older sister marries while
he's away at school and the ever-developing student finds that
his loyalties are put to the test. This pressure is increased
when his father has an accident that partially disables him
and the earnest scholar now feels guilty about his time at a
prestigious boarding school.
A
delicate tale told with such heart-warming precision that its
running time glides by unnoticed, 'Going To School With My
Father On My Back' is exactly the kind of film that
illustrates how valuable world cinema is. It's success is in
its development of the basic elements of the plot and an
empathetic concentration on its characters; a formula that
makes for engrossing viewing after only a few minutes.
Director Chow Yau Chiu fills the film with carefully-sketched
scenes where the pivotal characters are given ample time to
breathe, therefore capturing the power inherent within the
narrative.
If
there is one weakness in this production that slightly hinders
matters it is the lack of history of some characters; the
background of the main family is not fleshed out as well as it
could have been. Nonetheless, this has a hundred times more
humanity than the so-called 'earnest' dramas that seem to
sweep up so many awards worldwide. A perfect anathema to the
big-budget blockbusters due to come out in the next few months
- 4 1\2 stars if possible.
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