A sharp satire of contemporary China’s money-obsessed society and a frank discussion of female sexual desire…
In one scene from Send Me To The Clouds, a female journalist meets an old woman standing by the riverside and wailing because her husband’s coffin has been washed away. A man touchingly offers her money to buy a new coffin.
A little later the old woman comes back with her daughter to find the generous young man. As first, it seems like they are going to thank him again for his help. But then the girl starts to describe how the price of coffins has increased and we see they are really trying to scam him out of some more money.
A satire on the money-obsessed nature of contemporary China, Send Me To The Clouds is an ambitious and stylishly produced film. It is an impressive debut for writer-director Teng Congcong, making a strong feminist statement. While it takes some time to find its feet, the movie gradually develops into an interesting and entertaining watch. At its heart is a critical examination of the state of modern Chinese society.
The film’s plot centres around the young woman Sheng Nan (Chen Yao), whose name fittingly means ‘surpass men’ in Chinese. She is a tough, practical woman who takes a cynical view of the world as she seeks to become a successful journalist like her hero Hemmingway. Her moral integrity and maturity contrast with the money obsessed and childlike naivety of the people around her.
The film’s opening arguably throws too much at us too fast and the acting initially comes across as a little clunky. Only later do things settle down to delve more deeply into Sheng Nan’s character. Some great scenes, with nice, natural dialogue, show her talking about existential issues with a man she meets while travelling.
Early in the film, Sheng Nan discovers that she has ovarian cancer and will need an expensive operation if she is to stand any chance of living longer. While this cancer is a central part of the film’s plot, it is nicely understated – allowed to lurk beneath the surface with everyday life going on anyway.
Because having the operation will mean Sheng Nan loses her sexual desire, she tries to find some men to sleep with while she still can. In this way, Send Me To The Clouds offers a frank discussion of female sexual desire which is a first for mainstream Chinese cinema and rare in a society where this subject is still seen as taboo.
Sheng Nan’s cancer also really puts into perspective the materialism and spiritual vacancy of the world around her. As she is stressed by her sickness, she gets no sympathy from anybody. Instead, it seems like all anybody can talk about is money. When she goes to see her father, possibly seeking to borrow some money for her operation, he instead asks for money from her, then gets angry when she won’t give him anything.
But it is Sheng Nan’s mother, excellently acted by Yufang Wu, who comes across as the most materialistic and selfish character in the film. At a dinner with Sheng Nan, she boastfully tells the others how she was rich enough to buy Sheng Nan Nike shoes when she was little – full of pride at the status symbol that the ‘tick’ bestowed. She makes Sheng Nan lift up her feet to show off the shoes she is wearing now.
And as well as materialism, the mother also serves to satirize other social issues. Having married and had a child at 19, she has never had the chance to develop into a proper adult and remains remarkably immature and childlike. When she accompanies Sheng Nan on a business trip, their roles are reversed as Sheng Nan finds herself comforting and taking care of her mother.
In this way, Send Me To The Clouds casts its social satire remarkably wide – taking in issues including public lack of cultural appreciation, marriage for money, and the way women are classed as ‘leftover’ once they reach their late twenties. Some of this social commentary might resonate more with Chinese domestic audiences and be lost on foreigners. But even so, the film still offers an engaging, critical portrait of contemporary China. It is well worth taking the time to watch.