Based on the novel of the same name Ge Shuipin – in turn inspired by real-life events –
Cry Mountain is the story of deep love, but also the condemnation of injustices carried out by an entire community against a defenceless woman and the man who wanted to protect her. The story takes place at the start of the 1980s, in a small Shanxi village.
The spectacular and apparently idyllic scenery surrounding the village cannot hide the tension bubbling over in the community, which has yet to get over the traumas of the Cultural Revolution, which has only recently ended.
La Hong, a mysterious man who has recently arrived in the village with a mute wife, who he often abuses, and two children, is fatally injured by a trap for wild animals laid by Han Chong, an ambitious and somewhat irresponsible youngster who passes his time flirting with the widow Qin Hua.
Unwilling to have any outside interferences, the elders of the village decide not to report the matter to the police, but order Han Chong to support La Hong’s family until an adequate recompense has been decided on. Han Chong accepts this decision reluctantly, and gradually establishes a daily routine with Hong Xia – La Hong’s widow, who astonishes everyone in the village when she shows them she can read and write – and her children.
He provides food and for all the other needs of the family, while she cooks and looks after him. The two learn to communicate: he talks and she replies by writing messages. Little by little, Han Chong and Hong Xia create a new family, not only with regards to the daily organization of life, but emotionally too: they fall into a wordless but very deep love.
In the meantime, Hong Xia’s flashbacks and hallucinations gradually reveal the woman’s dramatic past and the reason why she lost her voice. But when Qin Hua, in a jealous rage due to Han Chong having shifted his attentions, spreads the word that the police are looking for La Hong – accused of murder and kidnapping – the community in the village close in on themselves again.
Despite the fierce opposition of Han Chong and his father, the elders come to the harsh decision of eliminating Hong Xia and her children rather than having to face the consequences of not having reported La Hong’s death…
The title of the film refers to the cries and songs that echo through the villages nestled in the mountains, but the film is a metaphorical cry of alarm about important issues like intolerance, violence against women, the kidnapping of innocent babies, the psychological damage that abuse can cause individuals and about society in general.
And it is also – perhaps especially – a metaphor about how difficult it can be to find the strength to express your opinions and fight prejudice, both on an individual level and in the community, because even major tragedies can lead to something as pure as the love Han Chong and Hong Xia share.
In various interviews, Larry Yang has declared that there is a parallel between the woman trying to find her voice and himself, in search of his voice as a film-maker. He also makes reference to the difficulties young people today face, suffocated by the expectations of the previous generation.
Played to perfection by Nick Wang and Lan Yueting – in the roles of a couple in Johnnie To’s film Office too – the film is a Hairun and Village Roadshow co-production, and the international air of the film can also be felt in the film crew, which includes a Mexican director of photography, a French composer and a Malaysian set designer.