Asian Cinema Challenge - Week 39 - Chinese Dissident Cinema - 21/52

52 Years In 52 Weeks: 2025 - 19/52

Wang Toon’s debut film, "If I Were for Real," is a satirical dramedy that delivers a sharp critique of Chinese governmental officials during the latter years of the Cultural Revolution. The film is based on the banned Chinese play of the same name and centers around the true story of Zhang Quanlong, who impersonated the son of a high-ranking official.

Li Xiaozhang is among the sent-down youth—young people (mostly unwillingly) sent from urban areas to work on farms. When he learns that his girlfriend from the city is pregnant, he desperately seeks a way to be transferred back before she is forced to have an abortion. Li manages to get a brief 10-day leave and, on a whim, poses as the son of a high-ranking communist general to gain entry to a theatrical performance. However, before he can leave at the end of the play, he is approached by local party officials and decides to continue the ruse, asking them for assistance in obtaining his desired transfer (on behalf of "the son"). As more officials become ensnared in Li's deception, the risk of his exposure grows.

As far as I understand, the cinematic version of "If I Were for Real" tends to be less subtle in its criticism of the Communist Party compared to the play. Nevertheless, Toon effectively employs satire to denounce the corruption, harassment, and sycophantic behavior of party members. A major metaphor in the film is a fake bottle of luxurious wine. When Li arrives in the city, he intends to purchase a genuine bottle as a gift for his girlfriend’s father, but due to his limited resources, he can only afford cooking wine. Instead, he asks for an empty bottle of premium wine and some wax to seal it. This bottle eventually changes hands among the party officials as they gift it to one another (after being presented by Li at first). Similar to the beautiful bottle containing cheap wine, the film portrays the Communist Party as an institution that is ideologically akin to a hollow shell.