Shoot for the Contents

Trinh T. Minh-ha

A film focused on issues of power and change in culture and politics in China. Session that is part of the retrospective dedicated to the feminist and decolonialist scholar that accompanies the exhibition Seen Yet Unseen. 

Through reflection on Mao's famous saying, "Let a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought compete," this film—whose title alludes in part to a Chinese riddle game—makes a unique foray into the labyrinth of allegorical and narrative names in China. At the same time, it reflects on issues of power and change, politics and culture—reflected in the events of Tiananmen Square—and offers an investigation into the cinematic creative process, intricately combining Chinese folk songs and classical music, sayings of Mao and Confucius, female voices and the words of artists, philosophers and other cultural workers. 

Like traditional Chinese opera, Trinh's film unfolds through "bold omissions and meticulous representations" to depict "the real in the illusory and the illusory in the real." Exploring color, rhythm, and the changing relationship between ear and eye, this meditative documentary reflects on screen the changes in the culture and politics of contemporary China. 

Duration: 102'

Year: 1992 

Version: VOSC