UP THE YANGTZE

Luxury "Farewell cruises" on the Yangtze river in China offer a chance for (mostly Western) tourists to take in an impressive landscape that is soon to be lost under the rising waters caused by the construction of China’s great engineering project, the controversial Three Gorges Dam. Director Yung Chang takes us on an apocalyptic journey down what is known to Chinese people simply as "The River". On board we enter into the "upstairs, downstairs" culture of the cruise ship, a sort of floating GosfordPark. Below deck we meet 16-year old "Cindy" Yu Shui, a timid girl who had hoped to continue her education but instead was sent by her impoverished family to work on the cruise ship. Her parents and siblings are among the millions of people facing the encroaching flood waters that will soon submerge their homes and sink their livelihoods. Meanwhile "Jerry" Chen Bo Yu, a handsome English-speaking urbanite charms the cruise liner’s guests, successfully raking in tips. This voyage through the hazy mists of the Yangtze skilfully explores the contradictions of modern Chinese society.

Award: Best Canadian Documentary, Vancouver Int. Filmfestival 2007

"This brilliantly shot and edited documentary, at times humourous and at other times heartbreaking, dramatizes the complexities of cross-cultural communication and, through its focus on the massive Three Gorges Dam project, subtly shows the terrible human cost of China’s rapid modernization." Aus der Jury-Begründung, Best Canadian Documentary, Vancouver 2007

"This surreal, mist-enshrouded, Heart of Darkness-like journey along the river is a beautifully photographed and moving metaphor for life in contemporary China." Vancouver Int. Film Festival 2007

www.nfb.ca/uptheyangtze