Feet Unbound

Never expect myself to watch a documentary in the theatres, but I did. It all started with me being attracted to a movie poster at The Picturehouse (human beings are indeed visual creatures). Ha.
The Chinese title of Feet Unbound is 解放的三寸金莲. It literally means "liberation of the three inches feet". I didn't like this title as it couldn't capture the spirit of the film. Whereas feet unbound seemed to suggest courageous free spirited(that comes with the release from bondage) individuals who persevere on in the face of extreme deprivation and brutality.

The film is about the journey of Elly, a 28-year-old journalist from Beijing, who embarks on a 5,000 kilometre odyssey that takes her from Cangxi in Central China to Xingxingxia in the Gobi Desert northwest of China. Along the way, she uncovers the tragic story of the destruction of the Western Route Army -a great military failure of the Chinese Red Army.

Among the Western Route Army, only one per cent or 2,000 troops were females. Most of them were teenagers fleeing poverty, cruelty and general discrimination against females. Ironically, their search for a better life through joining the army led them to death. The majority did not survive the harsh weather conditions and the atrocities of war crimes.

Xuan felt a sense of emptiness and found the film depressing, while Wei was thoroughly amazed with the distance covered by the troops. Walking 12,500 km on foot! Gosh!!!!

The average age of the female veterans interviewed in the fim was 90 years old. One could not help but marvel at the resilience displayed by these women. Seeing how some managed to cast aside their emotional burden and live till this age, what spur them to move on is really a wonder.

If one thinks his/her problems are too heavy to bear, perhaps one wouldn't mind the problems so much after viewing the film. But then again, the self- centred human nature often forgets other people's troubles and grumbles or wallows in sorrow too easily. May sufficient grace and truth be with me throughout this life to avoid falling into such behaviour, as much as possible.