BLIND SHAFT

BLIND SHAFT
Written and Directed by Yang Li

"China is short of everything but people."

As sociopolitical systems, both capitalism and communism are great on paper. The communist ethic has pretty much proven a failure in modern application, as it doesn't account for the base principal of human greed. People want things, and they generally want more of that thing than their neighbor. And when they are rationed and denied any excess, they will find other means of getting said things. Corruption and black market economies ensue, and nations fall apart.

Capitalism on the other hand is still being tested, and its failures are rarely documented because, as the saying goes, it is the winners who write the history books. We rarely hear about the disparities of wealth created by the system of free enterprise. Capitalism as a system is still up in the air, but for the most part it has outlasted communism.

Enter the People's Republic of China, which is technically a Socialist Republic but is governed with the authoritarianism and oversight of a full communist state. While its constitution declares a freedom of press, the media in China is highly censored for what is called reasons of national security. Part of this censorship is that we are rarely if never given a peek into the lives of common Chinese citizens, the blue collar worker in the largest manufacturing base in the world.

BLIND SHAFT, the debut narrative feature directed by former documentary filmmaker Yang Li, gives us such a rare glimpse into Chinese life, and the small joys and overwhelming hardships that the people of China are facing as the country transitions into the singular economic powerhouse of the world.

Li's film focuses on China's private coal mining industry, which has been pushed into overdrive in response to China's incredible demand for energy as its infrastructure exponentially grows. The film follows the exploits of two men- presumably friends- who work in the most inhospitable of conditions for pay that is marginally better than those found in China's other sectors. Coal mining provides better compensation because of its high degree of risk, and also by the fact that the mines are located in some of the coldest, barren and desolate parts of Northern China. Nobody in their right mind would work there, but as work and resources are scarce, people are willing to risk their lives for a little extra cash.

The two men, Song Jinming and Tang Zhaomang, work hard but they have a much deeper ulterior motive, as they concoct a scam that involves the sabotage of the mine shafts and the untimely death (re:murder) of a coworker. The men collect upon the misfortunes of the victim, claiming hush money from the private owners based upon presumed heredity to the victims. Song and Tang have run this scam at several mines, moving from region to region, and leaving a dead body in each place. Tang blows his money on booze and whores, while Song sends a portion home to his family towards his child's education.

Enter Yuan Fengming, a sapling of a boy, barely sixteen, alone and looking for work. Yuan wants to earn good money to send home to pay for his sister's school fees, and he has left his family behind in search of work, work that is abundantly scarce in China. While in a market Tang finds Yuan and targets him as the next victim, manipulating the boy's innocence and convincing Yuan to pose as Song's nephew. The three then journey far north to a new coal mine, where they find employment.

The events that follow contribute to what is an excellent crime drama, one that is full of twists and turns, but is a far richer viewing experience because it does not overlook the basic human emotions that govern men. We are shown the divide between compassion and survival, and the mitigation between greed and basic provision. Song and Tang represent the system of old, where a man is denied excess, and therefore he must cheat, steal and even maim to achieve more. Yuan, the boy, represents the new hope of China, that hard work and determination can create economic stability and mobility. The ending of the film places these forces in full display, and as shocking as it is, the ending comes as highly appropriate and exceptionally well observed.

Yang Li made this film on a shoestring budget, employing the tools acquired from documentary filmmaking. Guerrilla shoots, johnny-on-the-spot filmmaking and the use of nonprofessional actors places the film in the esteemed realm of neorealist works by the Dardenne Brothers, Gillo Pontecorvo, and the Dogma filmmakers. The film has a raw beauty that both mimics and dissolves human life, stripping it down to its bare essentials and showing nothing but the bare wires of existence.

Not since Zhang Ke Jia's epic PLATFORM and the Dardenne Brothers' trilogy of films (ROSETTA, LE FILS and L'ENFANT) have I seen a more brutally honest portrayal of life- everyday life- in all its glory and squalor. BLIND SHAFT is one of those hidden gems that is an engaging yarn, expertly crafted and performed, and despite its underlying complexity, it reads effortlessly as a gripping crime drama. Credit goes to Yang Li for extracting the base truth from every scene, every moment, and every nuance. I can't wait to see his future work, and I eagerly await the opportunity to get a further glimpse into a world that hardly any of us are privy to.

And it is odd when you think about it. China occupies almost a fifth of our planet's population, and yet we know so very little of what goes on there. Films like BLIND SHAFT are as good as going there, if not the next best alternative, and what we ascertain that the global powerhouse that is the People's Republic of China is, like its neighbors to the West, prosperous at a cost. We see that capitalism and free enterprise, like communism, have yet to take the tenant of basic human greed into account. And one must wonder exactly how does one address the trappings of greed? Films such as this are a good place to start that important discussion. It's one we all desperately need to have.

BLIND SHAFT is available on DVD.