SGIFF Film Review: Tedious Days and Nights

Content Creator Phyllis Chan writes a moving and powerful rumination on the Chinese docudrama Tedious Days and Nights, which exposes the current lives of former poet-activists in Mainland China.

Patriotism is integral to Chinese culture, with many folk legends and stories celebrating acts of loyalty and bravery to one’s country. I think of the folk story of Yue Fei (岳飛) and the phrase his mother tattooed into his back — 尽忠报国 jin zhong bao guo — an oath and reminder to serve his country with utmost loyalty. In popular culture, behind the captivating action scenes written by Jin Yong (金庸), his wuxia novels are set in various periods when China was threatened by the occupation of non-Han Chinese people, presenting underlying themes of nationalism and patriotism. 

However, being patriotic does not mean one cannot criticise the country and its policies. The arts have always been a way for the Chinese to express their political beliefs. Take, for example, Zhao Mengfu (趙孟頫), a Chinese literati, a scholar-official, of the Yuan Dynasty who excelled in painting and calligraphy. His painting Grooms and Horses (赵氏三世人马图卷) criticises the improper use of scholarly talent by drawing an obese and incompetent horse, as horses were used as a metaphor for government officials. The seminal writer Lu Xun (鲁迅) wrote The True Story of Ah Q (阿Q正傳), using the titular character Ah Q as a symbol of the failures of Chinese ideology, highlighting the issues with social dynamics of the era. Criticism does not condemn the country but calls for the improvement of the government and the countrymen to build a stronger nation. No matter what one’s political views are, there is an intrinsic love for one’s country in that their beliefs and ideology would serve the country better.

Zhao Mengfu 趙孟頫, Grooms and Horses 赵氏三世人马图卷, c. 1296 – 1359

Tedious Days and Nights (混乱与细雨) gained quite some publicity when news broke that Chinese authorities banned its director, Guo Zhenming (郭珍明), from travelling to Singapore for the 34th Singapore International Film Festival, on the basis that he was “suspected of being a threat to national political security”. With a statement like that, one would expect the film to be outright radical, uncovering secrets that the government would rather bury and exposing the horrors of living under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, the film was the opposite of such expectations, as we tediously watch the mundane lives of poets from the Rubbish Poetry Movement (垃圾派 la ji pai), with one of the audience members going as far as to call the film “boring” during the Q&A session with the director. Guo considers his film to be a hybrid of a documentary and drama, as he not only documents the real debaucherous lives of these poets but also incorporates scenes of spoken word poetry recited by the three poets — Zeng Dekuang (曾德旷), He Lu (何路) and Guan Dangsheng (管党生).

The film centres around the life of Zeng in the former industrial town of Coal Dam. He seems like another unremarkable person in the decrepit town. Unemployed and aimless, he spends his time getting his hair washed in the town’s rundown salon, spending his money on karaoke, alcohol, and engaging sex workers. Nothing about his appearance or lifestyle would suggest that he is a relatively accomplished poet. Guo is objective as a director; although he participates in the discussions and activities that the poets engage in, his camera is impartial, letting the audience come up with their own opinions on the poets.

Watching the film was somewhat conflicting as the poets are not necessarily the best people. Zeng Dekuang chooses to be unemployed and use what little money he has on his vices, actively cheating on his wife with sex workers, refusing to provide for his struggling family. He Lu is a perpetual drunk and Guan Dansheng openly expresses that he wants to assault young women in an attempt at “artistic expression”. It was hard to identify what led them to live such debaucherous lifestyles, as all of them are intellectuals with a great understanding of literature and politics. They would have had the skills to be part of the literati under the dynastic monarchies of China, all of them sharing different political beliefs but remaining close friends who learn from each other.

They now live in the town of Coal Dam, which is dilapidated and beyond repair. The young have all left town to search for better circumstances in the cities, and those that remain seem to decay with it. The town is a relic of the past glory of the CCP, who strategically established industrial towns to adhere to the nation’s manufacturing needs. The poets seem to relinquish themselves to the town that seems to be eating away at them, taking away their passion for life and their morality.

Not much of his life before is mentioned by Zeng, but the little he says reveals the pain and slow violence that Chinese intellectuals must endure. Zeng is a symbol of the generational trauma that politics can inflict on people. His grandfather was killed during the Cultural Revolution, and his participation in the June Fourth Incident (六四事件 liu si shi jian), also known as the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests, limited his job opportunities and prospects despite being a university graduate. Betrayed by his philosophy and abandoned by his country, time seems to have stopped in 1989 for Zeng. His life in the present is such a stark contrast compared to the spirit of the university students who led the protest, who were passionate and hopeful that they could make a change for the country they love.

If peaceful demonstrations cannot work, vulgar displays seem to be the only option for these dissident intellectuals. He Lu slurs vulgarities at the nation in an abandoned construction space. Guan Dangsheng masturbates in front of the camera while criticising the government. Director Gao also plays a role in this nonviolent protest by documenting the poets through Tedious Days and Nights. Their acts are reminiscent of other contemporary Chinese artists, such as Ai Weiwei’s (艾未未) Study of Perspective, where he flipped off important monuments worldwide as a demonstration against power and injustice. These acts are aggressive but also a form of peaceful resistance, showing simple words and actions can carry so much power for the individual.

Ai Weiwei 艾未未, Study of Perspective - Tiananmen Square, 1995 – 2003.

There seems to be a misconception in the Western world that the Chinese are a herd of blind sheep, ignorant of the control of the CCP in China. However, quiet resistance is always brewing behind the Chinese firewall. Puns and Internet slang are cleverly used to dodge media censors in China, giving opportunities for people to voice their political opinions condemned by the government. Many young Chinese are choosing opportunities to work and study overseas in a movement called “run-ology” (润学 run xue), in order to leave behind the worsening circumstances in China. 

Being able to forsake future successes and voicing their honest opinions takes a lot of courage, and not all Chinese are as brave as the director and poets featured in Tedious Days and Nights. Even in the neglected town of Coal Dam, the love for China and dreams of a prosperous country continues to grow, through the vulgarities and debaucherous resistance led by the Rubbish Poets.