Bukenqu guanyin

The story was clear and easy to follow - neither too fast or slow paced, and the strange mix of traditional aesthetics and modern effects made it quite entertaining to watch. I watched this by accident as I was looking for a completely different film, but it was a pleasant surprise. Very educating in this way - Wen I was in China, I happened to get a gift with a picture of Avalokiteshvara on it, but had no idea what it was until I saw this film.

The film titled, Avalokitesvara, was produced in Beijing, China and released in 2013. The director of the film, Zhang Xin, digs deep into Chinese history surrounding the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution that was ordered during the reign of Emperor Wuzong. The story follows a Princeling, his protector, a Japanese monk, as well as a brother and sister in their search and journey with a sacred Buddhist idol of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. Emperor Wuzong believed that Buddhism was corrupting the Chinese people and ordered that all but two temples be destroyed and any idols of gods be destroyed as well. During this time period, there were still close ties of religion to government. The distinction between government and politics was not made until modern times. The setting of the film is around 845 CE, when Buddhism had grown relatively large in most Asian countries. The purpose of the outlawing and persecution of Buddhists was to cleanse China from foreign influences that were thought to be contaminating the country. Emperor Wuzong strongly opposed Buddhism, as is apparent in the film, and took a belief in Taoism, a religion he saw native to China. There were economic, social, and religious reasons why the persecution took place, like winning the battle that almost bankrupted the country and Confucian intellectuals rallying about Buddhism undermining the social structure of China. These factors are important to note when watching the film, in order to distinguish the Buddhists from the Taoist Emperor and his army. Some parallels exist between the time period in this film and modern Chinese history. With a Communist government in place for many years now, the Chinese are not privy to persecution. The film wishes to convey a sense of acceptance to a contemporary Chinese audience. One of the main characters in the film is proposed to be the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara which is a goddess highly renowned for her compassion and forgiveness. This film is trying to tell contemporary China that everyone deserves forgiveness and everyone deserves to follow what they believe freely. I thought this film portrayed religion in a really special way. Buddhism, in this film, is seen as a respectable religion that people are willing to die and suffer for. Any idea that people are willing to suffer or die for is important. The Buddhist characters in the film are seen as very humble, generous, kind, and forgiving. I think it was interesting to note that there is a sharp distinction in positive traits between the Buddhist characters and the non-Buddhist characters. The non-Buddhist characters are not shown in the greatest light. They are portrayed as mean, cruel, unforgiving, and unaccepting. This is a sharp contrast from how they display all of the attributes of the Buddhist people.

I once heard a Chinese fable that went something like this:

A man found a strong horse and brought it home. His neighbors claimed he was so lucky, but the man replied, "Who can say what is good and what is bad?" The next day his son rode the horse and was thrown from it, breaking his leg. His neighbors lamented his bad luck, but the man said, "Who can say what is good and what is bad?" The following day, the army came through town to conscript soldiers, but the son was not taken on account of his broken leg.

That story encapsulates the spirit of the film Avalokitesvara, particularly that of the character Little Lotus (Chun Li). As the outcome of an action can't be known, it is better to act forthrightly on principles and accept the consequences than to give in to baser motivations or impulses. Doing such will lead to infinitely better outcomes than acting without principles. At least, that is what I took away from the film.

As for the quality of the film itself, I found the CGI dubious and the wire-fu sequences confusing. However, this was a character-driven drama rather than an action/adventure, and didn't rely solely on action or special effects. The action was purely in service to the story (they way it should be), so overall, this was an effective film, and will appeal to broader audiences than the Buddhist images or message would suggest.