One Second

“Zhang” (Yi Zhang) manages to escape from a forced labour camp just as the Chinese cultural revolution is in full swing. His plan is to make it back to his remote home where he hopes to see a screening of a short propaganda newsreel extolling the merits of socialism that features his young daughter. The thing about these multi-reel movies, though, is that they are constantly being circulated, damaged, stolen and even covered in sand, so actually finding one in a working condition near somewhere capable of exhibiting it is no mean feat for this increasingly malnourished and frustrated gent. Then he encounters the wandering “Liu” (Haocun Liu) who also requires the film - but for an entirely different, and probably more practical purpose, so whilst trying to obtain it from her and stay one step ahead of the pursuing authorities, his work is cut out for him. As his quest proceeds, we are introduced by way of flashbacks, to just who he is, who she is, and why we are all chasing this moment encapsulated in nitrate and both actors deliver well. This reminded me, in many ways, of “Cinema Paradiso” (1988) insofar as it also really emphasises just how important cinema was to a small town community. At how revered, almost, the projectionist - in this case “Mr. Movie” (Wei Fan) - was, and despite the fact that the screen was little better than a king-sized bed sheet, at just how the population gathered to see whatever the authorities deemed fit for their consumption with eagerness and zeal. It’s thinly veiled critique on all things “party” is disguised in some really quite dark humour with some down right disrespectful dialogue that ridicules the very principles of any one doctrine state: ostensibly benign or just plain authoritarian, things very rarely changed for the people scraping a living the same way they’d done for centuries. The scenes with Wei Fan, especially towards the end, do raise a smile and then there’s the slight futility to it that works well, too. At times the photography gives us quite a powerful degree of intimacy and at other times it stands back and allows us to enjoy, or query, this man’s purpose as you begin to wonder will he ever see the film and just what did he ever do to merit such persistent attempts to recapture him! It can be a little sluggish at times, but the last half hour makes it worth a watch.