Educational Media Reviews Online

To celebrate the return of the city of Hong Kong to mainland China, the Beijing government commissioned Tan Dun to compose a work to premiere during the ceremonies. The resulting piece, Symphony 1997: Heaven-Earth-Mankind, was performed at midnight on July 1, the time of the official handover. This film documents the preparations for the performance of this symphony and the festivities in general.

The opening footage of cellist Yo Yo-Ma's arrival and greeting with Tan Dun at the Hong Kong airport introduces the major idea of the symphony -- that of East meeting West in an embrace of harmony and shared optimism for the future. The film portrays much of this positive spirit.

Yet the uncertainty and fear of Hong Kong's political and economic future loom like the typhoon that is warned throughout the days prior to takeover. The conflicting views of the mainland Chinese and the western medias present two opposite points of view on the return of Hong Kong: on the one hand, a liberation from over a century of imperialist tyranny by the British; on the other hand, the fall of a thriving international city into the hands of the Communists, with disastrous implications for democracy and liberty for its citizens. Business owners look clearly worried; a mainland Chinese citizen dares not share her personal political views before the camera.

Despite this contradictory aspect, Tan Dun and Yo Yo-Ma maintain that the aim of the symphony is to unite people regardless of politics; that art should be universal, and that traditional Chinese culture be celebrated. The innocence and enthusiasm in the faces of the children's choir in rehearsal brings forth this notion. The 2,000-year old bianzhong, a set of 65 bronze bells excavated in 1978, are incorporated in the work, adding to the notion of timelessness of human spirit regardless of differences. A tape of Cantonese street opera plays on stage while the orchestra drones in the background.

The film builds a sense of momentum as the celebration approaches. Indoor shots of hotel parties juxtaposed with protest demonstrations in the streets amid an ever-building Chinese military presence. Stunningly decorated dragonboats rehearse their maneuvres in Hong Kong Harbor. The carousing partygoers are filmed in a dizzying, jerky style; the effects contrasts sharply with the looks of worry and fear of the Hong Kong citizenry in long sustained shots. Final rehearsals by the musicians as well as the pyrotechnics crew (ironically, from the United States) are documented. At the countdown to midnight, all the mixed emotions of the participants in this historic event are superbly captured by the camera.

On the evening of July 1st, the premiere of the Symphony takes place in the Regal Hotel, in a hall overlooking Hong Kong Harbor, where the spectacular pageant is played out. Tan Dun and the musicians struggle to make themselves audible over the firework explosions behind them, but it is apparent that this is futile: the sounds and visual intensity of the spectacle far overpower the music. The final chords of the symphony, powerful when heard in themselves, become inconsequential in this context. Perhaps the filmmaker is aware of this; the film finishes in a long overhead shot of a debris-ridden hotel floor after the celebration with spectators wandering off, and an injured man on a stretcher is carried away. The overall effect is that of being shellshocked.

This ending presents some intriguing larger questions. Is this film really about the symphony's intrinsic merits, or its use as mere background for official celebrations and ceremonies? Can composers work effectively in a political arena? Was the elaborate preparation by the musicians to premiere Symphony 1997 worth the almost indifferent audience response, as compared to the wild reception of the thousands overlooking the harbor spectacle? The director leaves the answers up to the speculation of the viewer. The film is recommended for libraries with collection interests in political science, Asian studies, broadcast journalism, and music.