The Chinese film To Live centers on a family during Mao’s transition into power. The story tells the family’s personal story whilst intertwining aspects of the events at the time. The earlier parts of the film show the Civil War between the Communists and the Nationalists. Fugui, while traveling as a puppeteer, is forced to fight for the Nationalists. They are then captured by Communists and become entertainers for the soldiers. He is eventually able to return home, where he is reunited with his family. When they return, we see the reform against the rich, with the wealthy Long’er being pressured into giving up his belongings for the People’s government. He refuses and is declared a reactionary. The story then jumps ten years into the future, during Mao’s Great Leap Forward. We see evidence of the national drive for the steel industry, with the family being forced to donate all of their steel. Fugui’s wife asks how they’ll be able to cook without any of their metal pots. They are then informed of the communal cafeteria. They eat together as a town, rather than as a family. The people don’t cook their own food, but rather they have people cook food for the entire community.
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