What is Circus School?

In "Circus School", the traditional Chinese acrobatic art presents another extreme beyond the beautiful stage performance: the cruel practice process is presented one by one. The two co-directed creators, Guo Jing and Ke Dingding, seem to be deliberately keeping their distance from the subject and the audience. Most of them use lenses above mid-telephoto to represent the living conditions of a group of circus school children. Obviously, the views are so strong And after careful consideration, the movement of the mirror is so calm and subtle, and even tries to filter all the emotional factors that may be exposed in the lens.

Circus school

Director: Guo Jing / Curtin Tin

Starring: Teachers and Students of Shanghai Circus School

Language: Mandarin / Mandarin / Shanghainese

Country / Region: China

Release Date: 2007

"Circus School" is the second independent production of Guo Jing and Ke Dingding after "The Fruits of Midsummer". The duo took one shot, one recorded clip, and the tacit understanding can even be shown during the interview. Continuing the social nature of the first work, in "Circus School", they are concerned about a problem that is worthy of consideration and neglected because of tradition-the cruel training of the circus school, which reflects the current state of competition and survival in China. Compared to the distinctive style of photography and editing, the film is very low-key in its expression form: a calm and refined lens, without a single attitude, without interviews, let everything that is filmed to express his own point of view.

In the film, 9-year-old Xu Lu is a special case. Almost all children are passively practicing under the dual pressure of school and parents. Only she is enjoying all this. She has a thriving passion for acrobatics. Unfortunately, she is just an exception. The learning process of most children is as painful as the 13-year-old Cai Yong. Because of gluttony and gaining weight, Cai Yong's dumb parents were called to the school by the teacher. The communication between the teacher and the parents was done through Cai Yong's sign language. At this time, the school and the parents who did not speak the language showed a harmonious communication. However, Cai Yong, who translated in the meantime, blocked this communication, and the only thing he could do was to bear it. The teachers and leaders of the circus school have become the leaders who continue this cruel art, but it turns out that the fault is not in them. This is just a cycle of acquiescence and even praise from society. All social problems are not the fault of one person or one generation. And carry forward the reason to indulge all the pain, not only in the circus school.

Because of the images that deliberately kept the distance, the multiple meanings of Circus School are clear and strong.

Cai Yong's last performance of a one-handed handstand was shown in a 5-minute long shot. This is the most emotional part of the film. At this time, it was really heartache and moved. The heartache is that the times cannot be controlled by people. This kind of cruel practice that has been passed down for thousands of years will continue, and I am touched by the immortality of the documentary in the sense of images achieved by presenting facts