The third instalment of the 2001 'Silk Screen' Collection, Wang
Xiaoshuai's Beijing Bicycle (2001), is an ode to the bicycle that
has readily become a symbol of mainland China. Set in contemporary
Beijing, the film traces the fortunes and misfortunes of two
seventeen-year-old males, one from the city and one from the countryside.
It opens with the arrival of Guei (Cui Lin) to the city of Beijing where
he has secured himself employment as a courier. As Guei and the recruit of
young employees stand in a uniform line, neatly dressed in their
homogenous new attire, their assertive superior informs them that once
they have earned six hundred yuan (based upon earnings of ten yuan per
trip), they will be eligible to own the shiny silver mountain bike that
they will use for deliveries. Thus, Guei advances upon the long and
arduous road to success and the ownership of the mountain bike. However,
just when he earns enough to complete the final payment on his now beloved
set of wheels, the bike is stolen. Despite the overwhelming number of
bicycles in Beijing, Guei's determination to reclaim his (almost) prized
possession leads him to Jian (Li Bin) who claims he purchased the mountain
bike at the flea market. Consequently, the two protagonists are forced to
engage in a struggle of strength (brute force carried out by Jian's gang
of friends) and willpower and resolve (as exhibited by Guei) to win the
bike, a conflict that must eventually result in compromise.
The juxtaposition of Guei and Jian, and in particular their contrasting
relation to the bicycle, highlights their differences in social standing
and status. Guei is a humble migrant who has travelled to the city with
dreams of gaining stability and a regular income. He finds himself
struggling to survive in a foreign and chaotic environment in which
traditional architecture and customs collide with an industrious and
materialistic outlook. Alternatively, Jian comes from a hard-working and
upwardly motivated city family who are concerned with providing Jian and
his sister with a good education. Jian attends a co-educational school and
joins his friends at video game outlets for after school entertainment. He
is not extremely wealthy but as an urban dweller he enjoys an education,
which is enough to clearly set him apart from Guei. Significantly, not
only do Guei and Jian originate from very different backgrounds but the
bicycle represents something very different and very unique to each of
them. The mountain bike grants Jian status amongst his peers and impresses
his girlfriend, Qin (Zhou Xun). He relishes the popularity, honour and
independence that it provides, and is therefore unwilling to relinquish
such an object. At the other extreme, Guei's relation to the bike is one
of practical need: he is reliant upon it for his new employment. But et
this is not Guei's only reason for needing the bike. Just as it represents
status and pride to Jian, so it does for Guei. It symbolises his
participation and success in the city of Beijing and makes him less of an
outsider. In addition, ownership of the bike signifies Guei's possession
of a material object and partly meets his avid desire to attain material
possessions in the fast-paced metropolis. The bike assists in shaping both
Guei and Jian's identity and is therefore a precious commodity for each.
Wang explores the changing dynamics of contemporary Beijing life
through examining the experiences and needs of two young males from very
different social backgrounds. In the first part of the film, the viewer
witnesses Guei's acclimatisation to his new environment as the camera
documents the various problems he encounters whilst delivering packages
and engaging in city life. Beijing is depicted as an urban metropolis,
comprising McDonalds restaurants, modern high-rise buildings and
traditional Chinese architecture. The streets are chaotic with cars and
bicycles vying for position on the road and Guei must negotiate his way
through the terrain of everyday activity. Significantly, Wang does not
characterise Guei's naivet¨¦ as a product of stupidity or mediocrity.
Guei's silence when he is confronted by new or unknown conduct (such as
the bathhouse scene) simply acknowledges his difference and wonderment at
the city. Wang's subtle engagement with social issues via his protagonists
illuminates the changing face of Beijing. Unlike his 1993 film, The
Days that was blacklisted by the China Film Bureau and his other films
such as A Vietnamese Girl (later titled So Close to
Paradise, [1995]) that had difficulties passing the censors, Beijing Bicycle provides a more simple and understated exposition
of the Chinese urban lifestyle. Nevertheless, Wang adroitly examines the
experiences that the modernisation of China has generated for many of its
citizens. Jian provides an apt example of a modern Chinese teenager who is
trapped in an oscillating space between his submergence within popular
culture and his appreciation of consumerism, and his connection to
tradition via his family. Jian rejects his father's values and traditions
when he steals the family's savings to purchase the mountain bike. His
father's enraged reaction is part anger and part disbelief that his son
lacks any filial duty or obedience.
A very special component of Beijing Bicycle is Wang's evocation
of Beijing's lanes and ancient alleys known as hutongs. Many were
built during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Traditionally, thousands
of lanes, alleys and quadrangles became residential areas for the people
living in the capital. In the burgeoning metropolis that is contemporary
Beijing, these alleys and laneways occupy approximately one third of the
city and still exist as dwellings for many Chinese city residents (despite
their 'disappearing' status and gradual replacement by high-rise
buildings). Beijing Bicycle contains some artful chase scenes
throughout these ancient lanes and alleys. And Wang's penchant for the
cobbled lane ways and alleys alludes to the fact that Beijing is both an
ancient and modern city. He highlights the degree of this difference
within the city, which is partly what makes Beijing such a fascinating
destination. The visual crossover between hutongs and modern
high-rise architecture throughout the film is also symbolic of the
bicycle, which has been forced to address an old versus new dichotomy.
Traditionally, the purchase of a new bicycle was an important decision
involving the entire family. Jian's family still retain this belief and
consider the bicycle an important family asset. Jian's rejection of this
attitude is indicative of his generation's growing exposure to materialism
and popular culture. However, Wang does not reduce Jian's motivations
simply to the selfishness of the younger generation but attempts to
sympathise with Jian via his father's empty promises of a bike.
Inevitably, the bicycle's status throughout Chinese history means that it
takes on new dimensions in the contemporary setting. The inclusion of cars
and public transport has assisted in changing the bicycle's pertinence and
glory. It is no longer the only form of transportation available to
residents and therefore not the feted possession it once was.
Nevertheless, the bicycle is still a crucial mode of transportation within
Beijing, even if it is no longer the object to which most individuals
aspire to own.
Wang's exploration of a city divided between modernity and tradition is
effective without offering jarring juxtapositions of old versus new. The
camera's smooth transition between different parts (old and new) of
Beijing reflects the city's interchangeable flavour. In the beginning,
Guei and Jian appear very different individuals, but their love and desire
for the bicycle (and what it represents) ultimately brings them together.
Wang does not delve into the personal lives and motivations of the
characters but focuses on the effect of their social environment and their
place within this sphere. He depicts the new face of Beijing's youth
through Jian and alludes to the disillusion of immigrants from the
country, such as Guei, who are strongly influenced by the allure of
glamour and material wealth that the city offers. A secondary plot in
which Guei and his only city friend observe an attractive young woman from
afar, under the impression that she is an extremely wealthy city dweller
exemplifies this notion. Later, they find that she was in fact a maid who
liked to dress up in her employer's clothes whilst left alone. Guei and
his friend's misconception of the woman's social status is an obvious
indictment on the beguiling nature of surface images and material
possessions. Wang takes every opportunity to highlight the negative
aspects of city life and comment on the remoteness of urban dwellers.
Beijing Bicycle marks his transition from a cinema of social
realism to a more commercial realm. This less critical approach may not
push the same boundaries as his other films, yet Beijing Bicycle still retains a preoccupation with relevant social issues. Wang's ode
to the Beijing bicycle is nostalgic (via his concentration on Beijing's hutongs) without being overly sentimental. He willingly embraces
the future and recognises the problems associated with change and a newly
consumer oriented society. Ultimately, Beijing Bicycle proves an
enjoyable film that oscillates between social melodrama and popular
entertainment. Wang is a thoughtful and resourceful filmmaker that makes
ample use of his chosen setting. Furthermore, the thematic concerns that
emerge from this environment and the iconic bicycle are successfully
intertwined with the protagonist's personal motivations.
Wang's Beijing Bicycle, which was winner of the Berlin Film
Festival Silver Bears Award, is also a component of producers Peggy Chiao
and Hsu Hsaio-ming's 'Tales of Three Cities' series. Consisting of six
films set in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the series is designed
to offer glimpses into the different urban Chinese social and political
environments. Similar in theme to Vittorio De Sica's The Bicycle
Thief (1948), Sixth Generation Chinese filmmaker Wang's rendition of
the stolen bicycle premise is uncomplicated yet compelling and stirring.
Wang effectively aligns the bicycle with certain experiences and stages in
Guei and Jian's life, such as the blossoming love for a girl and the
gaining of independence and self-sufficiency. Beijing Bicycle
offers a meditation on a contemporary Chinese city but is also an ode to
the bicycle that is an integral component of Beijing life. The millions of
bicycles that traverse the city today are testament to the significance
and longevity of the bicycle. Wang does not offer a prognosis on the
future of two wheeling Beijing but depicts the current bicycle climate.
Indeed, it appears the bicycle will remain a symbol of Beijing and
mainland China for generations to come.
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