As many as two million people are being displaced because of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China.
“Up the Yangtze” chronicles the life of two teenagers who work on a cruise ship that gives “farewell” tours to those who want to see the Yangtze before the dam alters it forever.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q1fFuynf-Yw" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
One of the youngsters is an arrogant young man who boasts he makes more working for the cruise line than both of his parents.
Sixteen-year-old Yu Shui also works on the boat because her family cannot afford to send her to school.
She lives in a tin shack by the river and neither of her parents read or write.
Director Yung Chang does a wonderful job of showing the effects of the dam on the destitute farmers who live by the water’s edge.
Their plight is juxtaposed to that of the people (mostly westerners) who ride the cruise ships. They are typically overweight and well-to-do.
Yung Chang lets the camera linger on his subjects and that allows the audience to feel a sense of empathy with them.
However, “Up the Yangtze” lacks information about and history of the dam.
The director understandably wants to show the human side of the project but because of that fails to educate the audience.
Taken for what it is – a real-life human drama – this film is excellent.
For students of modern China, this film allows them to see the true consequence of what may or may not be progress.
“Up the Yangtze” is now available on DVD.
Murphy can be reached at Lojano@comcast.net