During the 1970s, many young intellectuals who were lucky enough to escape to freedom, wanted to let the world know what life was like for the billion people imprisoned behind the bamboo curtain. They wrote essays, novels, poems, and plays; some serious, some sarcastic; but all describing accurately the bitter life of the common man under the Communist system. At the time of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, many works of this kind had been produced on the mainland, although they were not written down. Instead it was an oral literature, and only occasionally was it secretly printed and copied for distribution. Despite these handicaps, the literature reached every corner of the Communist-held mainland, and some inevitably filtered outside.

After the death of Mao Tse-tung and the fall of the so-called "Gang of Four", the reformist regime wanted to give the impression of a new style of rule. This gave birth to "scar literature", which because it was written under the pretext of criticizing the "Gang of Four", could be published. After so many years of suffering, readers on the mainland began to have some hope after the "human tragedy" was blamed on the "Gang of Four".

"Portrait of a Fanatic" ("Bitter Love" in Chinese) is an example of "scar literature". It is a story of unrequited love. But it is not about the love between a man and a woman, but rather the love of a man for his homeland. "Portrait of a Fanatic," written by mainland writer Pai Hua, was recently filmed by the Sanyi Film Co. in the Republic of China.

The work was recognized as a model of criticism of the Maoist period, and therefore mainland authorities originally approved it for production. After a preliminary screening, however, upper-level bureaucrats and cadres were unhappy with it. As a result both the movie and Pai Hua himself were attacked in the Liberation Army Daily. Ultra-leftist factions saw it as an attempt "to completely overthrow socialism". The movie was banned and Pai Hua exiled to Yunnan.

"Portrait of a Fanatic" is the story of a patriotic artist, Ling Chen-kuang, who returns to the "new China" full of enthusiasm and hope. By the time the movie opens, sometime around 1973, he is hiding in the marshes, eating raw fish to survive. Through a series of flashbacks we learn the story of his life. We see him as a child of 12 in a poor country village. We see him sent to live with relatives after the death of his father, and left on his own after a Japanese aerial attack kills the man taking him to his new home. Later he gets a job as an apprentice potter and eventually teaches himself to paint. In the 1940s, he becomes a militant youth in Shanghai protesting against "hunger, civil war, and Japanese aggression." Finally forced to flee for his life to America, Ling Chen-kuang begins to make a name for himself as an artist.

Shortly after his return to China with his wife and daughter, Ling begins to have second thoughts. He is criticized and forced to move to a dreary, ramshackle room with no windows. He is sent to work in a steel mill. But even after he is beaten and imprisoned, he still retains his love for his homeland, although he cannot express it in painting. In the end he writes a critical "big character poster" and hangs it in Tien An Men Square. He is caught in the act and has no choice but to flee to the marshes.

It is at this point the movie proper begins. It is already late fall and snow has begun to fall. As the days go by the weather turns colder, and Ling Chen-kuang freezes to death in a snowfield.

Pai Hua tells us in clear language what a writer is seeking. He wants dignity, the right to decide his own fate, to create a life for himself, and to develop his own career. In other words, he wants to be himself. Apparently, this is too much to ask of the Chinese Communist regime.

[Picture Caption]

1: Ling Chen-kuang hiding in the marsh. 2: Filming on location in Korea. 3: A poignant farewell as Chen-kuang leaves home after the death of his father.

1: Ling Chen-kuang does not give his blessing to his daughter's marriage because it will take her away from China. 2: Chen-kuang and his wife. 3: After he has hung a "big character poster" in Tien An Men Square, Chen-kuang is pulled away by a friend before he is arrested.

Filming on location in Korea.

A poignant farewell as Chen-kuang leaves home after the death of his father.

Ling Chen-kuang does not give his blessing to his daughter's marriage because it will take her away from China.

After he has hung a big character poster in Tien An Men Square, Chen-kuang is pulled away by a friend before he is arrested.

Chen-kuang and his wife.