April 25–May 2, 1996

cover story

Fest Shorts: the First Weekend

THE MONKEY KID

Written and directed by Xiao-Yen Wang, The Monkey Kid chronicles the reverberations of the Cultural Revolution on the life of 9-year-old Shi-Wei. Her life has been altered in distinct ways: her parents are mostly absent (in the 1970s, the intellectuals were sent to the countryside to learn from and help the peasants), and she faces added responsibilities, a shortened childhood, Maoist recitations in school, and tension between workers and intellectuals (one boy bullies her for being an "intellectual doglet"). You understand what's going on, and what's to come, although the film simply leads you through a "normal" life of someone on the margins of the Revolution, without beating home the point. You also see her be a kid: carrying on with her friends, taking advantage of her freedom, as kids would; holding up her mother's undergarment to herself in the mirror, confused and anxious about her own body; standing up to the Worker's Project boys (her own private revolution). Xiao-Yen Wang based the film on his own life as a child in the Revolution; after filming it on location in Beijing without the government's approval, he snuck the film into the U.S. to be released.

— Jennifer Hemler

(Thurs. May 2, 7:00,Ritz Bourse; Sat. May 4, 3:00,Annenberg Center, Zellerbach Theater)