“I can’t wait 13 months for you; I can’t wait till I’m 25; but I can wait for you my entire life.” China, Cultural Revolution, early 70s. In the village of Xiping on the banks of the Blue river a hawthorn tree is venerated in memory of the Chinese patriots who during the war of resistance against Japan were hanged from its branches by the invading troops. A group of high school students arrive from the city to be “re-educated” by the farmers following Mao’s directive to “create classes in fields.”
The young Jinqiu, whose father languishes in prison and whose mother, despite being ill, is forced to work as a servant in the school where she originally taught because she was accused of being right-wing, is sent to stay with the village chief. Here she meets Jianxin, a young geologist, the son of a high-ranking military officer and orphaned of his mother, who committed suicide after political persecution.
The immediate attraction between them rapidly transforms itself into an intense but impossible love story... Under the Hawthorn Tree marks the periodic return of Zhang Yimou to simple films — but not simplistic — following the magnificence of his last swashbuckling films. The film is based on the novel with the same name by the writer Ai Mi (2007), based on the real life story of a young Chinese woman who after the Cultural Revolution shared her memories with the writer. Despite the fact that the narrative exclusively follows the young couple’s love story — the director said he hopes the film will help those who live in a consumerist society to reflect on the real meaning of love — the historical and social context of the time clearly emerges through a wealth of details in the dialogue, the settings and the costumes.
The film talks clearly about the situation in China during the Cultural Revolution, but also hints at more recent tragedies like the disappearance of entire cities, villages and historical memories — like the hawthorn tree — sacrificed on the altar of modernization. In a certain sense the love story between the two young protagonists of the film seems to want to show that even in morally and psychologically negative situations like the Cultural Revolution it is possible to feel real emotions and to maintain an integral spirit. And it is almost impossible for the viewer to remain unmoved by the small gestures such as two hands that timidly touch and that transmit the intensity of young and absolute love.
The sound track accompanies the narrative perfectly, evoking feelings such as innocence and purity; like also the photography, limpid and transparent like the feelings of the two protagonists. The young, eighteen-year-old actress Zhou Dongyu — who many believe that after such a convincing debut will become the next Zhang Ziyi — was chosen after a lengthy selection out of 10,000 candidates for the role of an innocent young woman, not yet aware of her beauty, who is honest and determined.
A deep sense of sadness permeates the film, even in the scenes in which the young couple are together and happy. Almost like a presentiment of the destiny that awaits them, or of melancholy that belongs not only to their story, but to the story of a nation.
Maria Barbieri