The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir

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Movie
Original title The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1975
length 74 minutes
Rod
Director Shirley MacLaine ,
Claudia Weill
script Shirley MacLaine
production Shirley MacLaine,
Joyce Chopra
camera Joan Weidman ,
Claudia Weill
cut Aviva Slesin ,
Claudia Weill
occupation

The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir is an American documentary film directed by Shirley MacLaine and Claudia Weill in 1975. The film describes the three-week visit of a group of American women to China in the spring of 1973. In 1976 the film was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar .

background

The delegation was a result of efforts by the Richard Nixon administration to resume US-China relations. In addition to MacLaine himself, the group included seven other delegates of various origins, socio-economic status and ages, as well as four film crew members. Accompanied by representatives of the Chinese government, the women visited Beijing , Shanghai , Guangzhou and Hangzhou . In addition, they experienced the cesarean -Birth a child under acupuncture anesthesia and visited farms, homes, schools and kindergartens. They covered a total of 2,000 miles.

reception

In the New York Times , AH Weiler found that with The Other Half of the Sky MacLaine had made a “professional, if not fulfilling” film that underscored her reputation as a film star, author, producer and political activist in terms of women's politics. The documentary is “picturesque, authentic and sincere”, but lacks “a holistic view”, for example with regard to the “uniformly friendly and busy Chinese appearing in the film”. In addition, officials would sometimes make "outrageous claims about Chinese life", so that the film is "clear propaganda". Nevertheless, The Other Half of the Sky is an "interesting, sometimes fascinating, if one-sided representation of China".

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Ian Aitken: The Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film . Routledge, 2013 ( preview in Google Book Search).
  2. ↑ Tony Shaw: Hollywood's Cold War . Edinburgh University Press, 2007 ( preview in Google Book Search).
  3. ↑ Awards. The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir (1975). Internet Movie Database , accessed February 19, 2015 .
  4. ↑ The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir ( English ) In: The New York Times . Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  5. ^ A b c Clarke Fountain: The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir (1975). Review summary. The New York Times, accessed February 19, 2015 .
  6. ↑ a b c A. H. Weiler: The Other Half of the Sky A China Memoir (1975). Movie review. The New York Times, March 13, 1975, accessed February 19, 2015 .