Chinese Comedy Peppered with Romance, “The Ark of Mr. Chow”!
Whether you’re looking for a comedy, satire, or romance, The Ark of Mr. Chow is for you. The movie opens with Mr. Chow, the Head of the Management Committee for the Youth Class-a special college program for young geniuses-traveling across China to recruit possible candidates for the class. After visiting all kinds of places from crowded city to remote countryside, he recruits twenty-two students, five of whom are the main characters of this movie. They come from diverse backgrounds and possess distinct characters: the well-behaved Way, reckless Mike, mysterious Dafa, eccentric Fang, and reserved Zhou Lan.
Starting in 1978, a dozen tertiary institutions including Peking and Qinghua University began enrollment for students under the age of 15 who display high levels of intellect. They were to become members of the “Youth Class.” The movie is set in 1998 when learning ideologies and environment were undergoing major shifts in China. Director Xiao Yang, himself part of the Youth Class in the 90s, draws from his own experiences to vividly portray the changing reality and comment on the issues he faced. Several scenes show Mr. Chow, the Head of the Management Committee for the Youth Class, under tense situations with the Chancellor who calls him out for being insensitive. “10 out of the 22 recruited students failed their psychology tests,” the Chancellor starts, “How could they study at a university?” The Chancellor represents the changing China that increasingly put emphasis on students’ overall personal development over traditional academic curriculum. Mr. Chow then walks up to the furious Chancellor and gently persuades him to keep the Youth Class “for the International Math Competition, for the glory of the Ministry, for the glory of the Motherland.” Mr. Chow embodies conservatism and its futile sense of hope that the elite education could fix today’s class struggle when it is the very cause of these tragedies. The kids, innocent victims caught between the two clashing ideas, must find their way to craft their own future against societal expectations. After the movie, audiences will be confronted by life’s questions such as What determines happiness? How is being different a fortunate or an unfortunate thing? Could our past give answer to the future?
Sounds too serious? Don’t go away yet. The movie is a comedy, after all. The social commentaries are presented in a lighthearted way, occasionally aided by romantic narratives. In one scene, the popular girl Elaine and her friend stand in front of a bulletin board reading an invitation to a party. The friend begs Elaine not to sit next to her because then “nobody talks to me.” So Elaine says okay. Then the friend begs her again, telling her to sit next to her because if not, “nobody will talk to me.”
Top-class actors also add another layer of entertainment to the film. The rising actress Zhou Dongyu, playing the withdrawn Zhou Lan, nonetheless makes her presence shine by penetrating the hearts of the audience through real-life display of subtle emotions of having a crush on Mike. What’s more, the legendary Sun Honglei plays as Mr. Chow, bringing to life one of the most conflicted characters in Chinese cinema history.
