Educational Media Reviews Online

According to Ma Shengyi, a farmer from Wenlou village in central China, there are too many of the following in his village:

• Too many people still selling blood
• Too many people who have contracted HIV/AIDS from selling blood
• Too many widows and widowers who can’t afford to send their children to school
• Too many people whose children are dead
• Too many lonely old people whose children are dead

In the 1990s HIV/AIDS came to Wenlou through a blood purchasing program. To supplement their income many poor villagers sold their blood and 60% of those who sold blood contracted HIV/AIDS from unsanitary equipment. Many have died from the disease. In his documentary film, To Live is Better than to Die, Wiejun Chen tells of the impact AIDS has had in parts of rural China by showing how it has affected the Ma family. It is spring when the film takes up the family’s story. Ma Shengyi’s wife, Leimei, is suffering from full-blown AIDS. Ma Shengyi and the younger two of their three children are HIV positive. Through periodic interviews Chen is able to document the family’s ability to maintain a loving and supportive home environment while struggling with their distressing situation. By the following spring, Ma Shengyi’s wife had died, his son had learned to walk, and his eldest daughter had come to know AIDS, death, and separation.

Weijun Chen does an excellent job of depicting the hardship AIDS has brought to Wenlou village. Through concentrating almost entirely upon the daily activities of the Ma family Chen is able to show the impact of the disease on a very human scale. AIDS arrived in rural China during a period of transition from socialism to capitalism. Hundreds of thousands of villagers, who were already struggling to get by in the new economy, were faced with the additional challenge of AIDS. Moreover, the rural health care system was not up to the task of caring for the ill. Viewers of the film may find themselves thinking about the questions this film raises. What were the details of the mass transmission of the disease, how much help was the Ma family getting from the government, what would happen to the survivors, and how was Ma Shengyi able to cope with the heartbreaking realities of his life? The situation in China is not unique. Communities around the world are facing many of the same difficulties as found in Wenlou village and To Live is Better Than to Die offers a window to their situation. This film should be of value to those with an interest in AIDS, modern Chinese society, the ability of people to cope with difficult situations, and the art of documentary film making. Although the subject of this film is a difficult one, it is thought provoking and is highly recommended for viewers from junior high through adult and to the libraries that serve them.