The Old Donkey

The Old Donkey (Chinese: 老驢頭; pinyin: lǎo lǘ tóu) is a 2010 Chinese film written, edited and directed by Li Ruijun, and deals with elderly farmers and their relationship to their land against a society that pushes forward reforms and policies relentlessly. It also deals with changing family relationships in fast changing China, particularly involving elderly left behind without anyone to care for them.[1][2]

The Old Donkey
Film poster
Chinese老驢頭
Mandarinlǎo lǘ tóu
Directed byLi Ruijun
Produced byZhang Xian-min
Zeng Wenwen
Cui Zi'en
Written byLi Ruijun
Peng Tao
StarringMa Xingchun
Zhang Min
Music byLi Ruijun
CinematographyYang Jin
Edited byZhang Jun
Li Ruijun
Release date
  • October 9, 2010 (2010-10-09) (BIFF)
Running time
112 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin

It made its world premiere at the 15th Busan International Film Festival in 2010.[3]

Synopsis

Under a new government directive on land reform, local bigwig Zhang Yongfu (Sun Chunyan) is buying up land owned by peasant farmers or trying to force them off their land, in order to build a chemical factory that will benefit the village. 84-year-old Ma, nicknamed Old Donkey (Ma Xingchun), stubbornly refuses to sell his land as he is convinced that it is his duty as a farmer to tender the land until his death. Apart from his daughter Ma Lianhua (Zhang Min), who looks after and works with him, Ma's three sons have moved to a nearby town.

As Ma's parents' graves on the edge of the desert is being swallowed up by sand, with the help of an old friend Ma Dazhi (Wang Dazhi), he plants wheat-straw terracing on the side of a nearby sand dune to protect them. Meanwhile, Zhang keeps up the pressure on Ma and others to sell their land, and Ma's health continues to decline as he tends the terracing. Ma is eventually forced off of his land, and dies of illnesses that he can't afford treatment for.[4][3][5]

Cast
  • Ma Xingchun as Ma
  • Zhang Min as Ma Lianhua
  • Sun Chunyan as Zhang Yongfu
  • Wang Dazhi as Ma Dazhi

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Recipient Result
20107th China Independent Film Festival[6]Narrative Feature Film (1st Prize)The Old DonkeyWon

Production

Li started filming The Old Donkey in 2006. When an investor pulled out at the last minute, he was left in a bad financial state as he had already set up a film crew and needed 300,000 RMB. His father lent him some money and he had to borrow the rest from relatives and friends to finish the film. His director friend Yang Jin supported and helped for free as the cinematographer and recording artist. In 2010, he won 100,000 euros from a film festival for the film. Luckily, he received another 200,000 euros for a post-production award, which allowed him to pay back some of his debts. He also worked temporarily as a TV director to finish paying off his debts.[1][7]

References
  1. Ma, Karen (7 June 2016). "Tackling the Issue of Ageing in Rural China: An Interview with Li Ruijun". VCinema. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  2. "The Old Donkey - International Film Festival Rotterdam". YouTube. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  3. "The Old Donkey". BIFF. October 2010. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  4. Elley, Derek (4 May 2016). "Review: The Old Donkey". Sino-Cinema. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  5. "The Old Donkey". IFFR. 2011. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  6. "CIFF Awards Announced; Zhang Xianmin Interviewed". DGenerate Films. 26 October 2010. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  7. "Hubert Bals Fund supports 24 film projects in thirteen countries". IFFR. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
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