Send Me to the Clouds (2019), Directed by Teng Congcong
A review of Send Me to the Clouds /《 送我上青云》(2019), directed by Teng Congcong.
I’d been staring at this movie for a long time now, ever since it was originally added to Kanopy. American friends with library cards, check to see if your local library gives you access to Kanopy. Having access to that streaming site gave me absolute joy, as I can find some of the more niche movies I’ve been wanting to see for free. It’s absolutely wonderful.
I was originally captivated by this movie because of its poster. It’s so, so beautiful. We have our main character, Sheng Nan, against a backdrop of pink-ish reds and the title of the movie scrawled across in Mandarin. It’s so visually appealing to the eye that one can’t not look away immediately. I didn’t read anything about this movie, didn’t do any research, and I dove right in because of that poster. And, surprisingly, I really enjoyed the movie, despite it being quite straightforward.
Let’s dig into it a bit deeper, shall we?
Content
Our main character in this film is a journalist named Sheng Nan. She is in her thirties and still is not married, a taboo in modern China; women who often are not married by her age are called leftover women, or 剩女. It’s kind of a misogynistic term, because men of the same age will be considered as golden (e.g. called 黄金单身汉), despite their unmarried status. Women are expected to be married, but men can essentially do whatever they want.
Our main character, while on an assignment to a local village that has a lot of wildfires going on, gets hit by a man who believes a metal hat connects him to aliens. He didn’t like that she called him crazy. But as she heads back to the village and doubles over in pain, her partner takes her to the hospital, where it is revealed she actually has ovarian cancer. She cannot afford chemotherapy or the surgery required for her treatment, so she is now desperate for money.
She ends up writing a biography for an artistic entrepreneur, one who is older and unable to write it himself. This sets her down a specific path, one where she really begins to discover who she truly is. It’s a glimpse in contemporary China as a woman who supposedly has it all: she’s smart and capable, is from a wealthy family. But still she is stricken with cancer, is still unmarried and scorned by society because of it. And so she sets out to find true love, as well as experiencing sex in its best form before she has the surgery, which can ruin her ability to feel anything during the act.
Cinematography-wise, this is a really stunning movie. From the opening shot my eyes were glued to the screen because the blocking and the pacing of the camera was just so well-done. I kind of wished I took screenshots before, which kind of is an excuse to watch it again, since some of the scenes were absolutely beautiful. Even the clothing lends itself to the story, which is right up my alley when it comes to cinema.
The lead actress, Yao Chen, is also amazing in this. You can really feel the depth of her character, as she interacts with strangers, her mother, and the man that she’s seeing. I felt like the character truly came alive on the screen and particularly stood out compared to the rest because of her skill and technique that she ended up employing during the filming process.
Overall Thoughts
This was a lovely film, and, although it drags in some places and seems to have holes where the viewer can get lost, it overall was a positive experience when watching it. Some movies, especially for me, tend to be worthing watching just for their technique, not just their storyline. This is one of those films. If you’re going to watch it, despite not being appealed by the woman dying of cancer in a country that wants you married concept, then just watch it for the cinematography. Trust me, it’s worth it. And if you’re not into Chinese film, then this can be a good primer for the politics and gender concepts that go into other Chinese films.
