Immortals in the Village
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Country/Region:
China Mainland, Japan
Release Year: 2017
Release Year: 2017
Story:
In a cold mountain village of the northeastern China, there's a locally famous Shaman Xu. In his youth, he had been a teacher as well as an accountant for the factory production team. Now he is about seventy years old, serving as a spiritual medium. During the cold days, he invites all kinds of spirit by singing some ancient ballads while beating a donkey-hide drum. After allowing the spirit to enter his body, with the help from the unseen world, the unconscious Shaman will cast spell, acquire medicine and divine information for the fellow villagers. Shaman Xu's life leads out several other spiritual mediums and their families.
In a cold mountain village of the northeastern China, there's a locally famous Shaman Xu. In his youth, he had been a teacher as well as an accountant for the factory production team. Now he is about seventy years old, serving as a spiritual medium. During the cold days, he invites all kinds of spirit by singing some ancient ballads while beating a donkey-hide drum. After allowing the spirit to enter his body, with the help from the unseen world, the unconscious Shaman will cast spell, acquire medicine and divine information for the fellow villagers. Shaman Xu's life leads out several other spiritual mediums and their families.
Casts & Crews:
Yu Guangyi
Directors
Runtime:
111
minutes
Language:
Subtitles:
Chinese, English
Festivals & Awards:
2017 Tokyo FILMeX 2017 Beijing Ethnographic Film Festival , China 2018 West Lake International documentary Festival , China
2017 Tokyo FILMeX 2017 Beijing Ethnographic Film Festival , China 2018 West Lake International documentary Festival , China
Tags:
Northeast, Shaman
Director‘s Statement:
I spent nine years making this Immortals in the Village. I knew most of the local villagers. There are ten spiritual mediums in this village of two hundred households. This place was freezing cold in winter and the peasants only had two meals a day. They often got sick, thus the mediumship played a big part in their winter life.
In real world, Shaman Xu and Shaman Nie lived a hopeless life. But from the other side of the world, they obtained confidence and brought solace to fellow villagers. The donkey-hide drum witnessed the passing of the old and the growing-up of the young. Ancient traditions took people back to the time of the ancestors, but the non-stop ringtones woke them to the present hour.
After the years of filming, now I'm more concerned about how people truly live in the company of the ancient tradition.
In real world, Shaman Xu and Shaman Nie lived a hopeless life. But from the other side of the world, they obtained confidence and brought solace to fellow villagers. The donkey-hide drum witnessed the passing of the old and the growing-up of the young. Ancient traditions took people back to the time of the ancestors, but the non-stop ringtones woke them to the present hour.
After the years of filming, now I'm more concerned about how people truly live in the company of the ancient tradition.
Casts & Crews
Yu Guangyi
Director
