Decades after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, his legacy still lives on and his message of peace and nonviolence continues to be very relevant in present times. Journalist and filmmaker Kevin McKiernan shows us in “Bringing King to China” just how important it is to keep King’s views, dreams and aspirations for the human race alive, and how they apply to our daily life.
This film documents the journey of McKiernan’s adult daughter whose goal is to put on a play in China about Martin Luther King Jr. in hopes that King’s message will build a bridge and open up dialogue between the United States and China. Cáitrín, the protagonist of the film, faces many obstacles in bringing about King’s message to China but she never gives up, and even with all of her struggles she manages to stay positive even during her most frustrating moments. Just when you think she has overcome one obstacle suddenly another one pops up. The audience is holding on to their seats as they wonder how Cáitrín will resolve her next problem, and there simply is not a dull moment in this documentary as each event that comes to pass in the film finds a resolution that gives the audience the opportunity to exhale for the time being.
It is very interesting to see how the very play that is meant to inspire a new dialogue and tolerance between peoples of different cultures is bringing about confusion, widening the bridge of misunderstanding and creating a disconnect between the people putting on the play. Problem’s plaguing the play include: a director that is on the verge of quitting due to artistic differences, a Chinese producer that gets upset when certain things are not to his satisfaction and blames Cáitrín for it, an assistant that is afraid to do what is right and in the process jeopardizes his friendship with Cáitrín, and the list goes on and on. In essence, there is a lot of intolerance and misunderstanding amongst the people putting on the play. However, as the play progresses, King’s message transcends the different barriers in language and cultures and actually allows the play makers to resolve their differences and work as one team to make, what seemed impossible, possible.
“Bringing King to China” does not hold back on the gore when showing clips of the casualties of war. These clips tend to be very graphic in nature. The juxtaposition of video clips showing Cáitrín’s childhood in a more innocent time and a war torn world of intolerance and violence, gives the audience the contrast needed to see what can be and what is. Furthermore, this documentary is a father’s attempt to reconnect with his daughter after a long time of being absent from her side. He went from having his baby girl travel with him in his journalistic assignments to Cáitrín growing up and becoming independent. Documenting Cáitrín’s road to putting on this play results in a mutual bond with in-depth dialogues about life, past and present.
The film has comedic moments and very mild language. There are shots in “Bringing King to China” that do not look professionally shot, however, these amateur-like shots contribute to the overall rawness feel of the documentary, and aides the audience in truly connecting with it for what it is. The music hits just at the right times. The editing moves the narrative flawlessly. The sit down interviews add more background and meat to the film. I highly recommend “Bringing King to China” to everyone. A must-see.
Q&A SESSION WITH THE FILMMAKERS:
After the film, in conjunction with the huge audience applause, the filmmakers graced the stage for a Q&A session that was very inspiring and eye opening. Kevin McKiernan stated that the film took four years to make and between 400 and 500 hours of video were shot. When asked why China was chosen as the host of this play Cáitrín said: “After the invasion of Iraq, there was a lot of anti-American sentiment in China.” She further added that the goal of the play was to build trust between two nations, between peoples of different backgrounds, and opening a line of communication by using Martin Luther King Jr.’s message.
A question addressed was whether Cáitrín was happy with the outcome of the film and play. In her response she concluded that she was happy with the final product, however, the message she intended to bring to China was not was she was expecting people to receive or take with them. What she meant was that King’s message was going to be interpreted in different ways as they applied to each audience member and how they perceived the message. “I was less interested in the message and more interested in the dialogue,” Cáitrín added.
One of the questions on people’s minds was how was the experience in shooting in China? Was there a lot of bureaucratic challenges? Were people angered by having a camera being put in front of their faces? Was there a lot of censorship that the Chinese government imposed? The filmmakers’ response was simply put that although there were a lot of cultural differences “the Chinese people were very welcoming for the most part,” and the play was uncensored.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s play ran for five performances in China and is now being translated into Arabic to be played around the Arab world such as Jerusalem and the West Bank.
ADDITIONAL SCREENINGS AT SBIFF: Wednesday February 2, 4:00 PM at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
WATCH THE TRAILER AND VISIT THE WEBSITE: www.bringingkingtochina.com
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