River of No Return

Sometimes the only way we know what the future holds is how it affects our past. This is the primary thing "Up the Yangtze" a very involving documentary is telling us.
The documentary tells about China's mystical river which was a thing of great beauty and pride among its people, but was doomed to be dammed thus erasing many majestic things about it as well as a great deal of farming community.

Most of the story takes place along a cruise ship which gives tourists a chance to cross it. What filmmaker Yung Chang keeps us in mind is that the original river has been destroyed due to its over flooding which erases many of the landmarks which makes China so unique, so basically the tourists aren't seeing much. The ship is being hosted by a bunch young locals who we see are pretty much taken and reformed to look and act more western. They think this will lead them towards more money.

One of the workers is the young daughter of a family who's home will be destroyed by the flooding of the river. The most emotional moments come when she is forced to leave her home and work for the cruise ship. She does not want to work and was hoping for a more fulfilling future, but both her and her family know it is not possible, they know this is the best way she can get money. While she is living on the boat, her family still skimps by with very little, waiting for the time they know they must leave.

The irony of this situation is not lost, it's a tragic thing for this family who must sacrifice their daughter to the very machine which is cutting off their lively hood. The girl is treated more as a clog than a human being on a boat, she is berated by her co-workers after she breaks out in tears, and we see a bittersweet reunion with her parents on the boat where she has to sit and hear how she must learn more discipline from both them and her boss.

Meanwhile the Yangtze is climbing higher and higher and we watch in dread as it swallows the land more and more. The scenery gives the river a character that looks dark and forbidding, and Chang contrasts this with the sight of the lively cruise ship making its way down the it.

Many parts of "Up the Yangtze" are very effective, and it was the right choice to focus primarily on the one family rather than the grander scale. By doing this, Chang makes this film more emotional rather than political, which makes the sequence where we see the river rising over time to its current status all the more heartbreaking. It's a bitter pill to swallow.

3.5 stars out of 4