The True Story of Ah Q

Director: Yuen Yang-an
Scriptwriters: Xu Yan (aka Yao Ke), Xu Chi
Original Story: Lu Xun
Cast: Kwan Shan, Ella Kiang, Feng Lin, Su Qin, Bow Fong (Narrator)
Productions: The Great Wall Movie Enterprises Ltd, Sun Sun Film Enterprises Ltd.
1958 | B&W | Mandarin | 105min

The ‘Ah Q spirit’, as popularised in this well-known story, is still often evoked as a shorthand for the act of indulging in self-consolatory delusions. This film’s protagonist, Ah Q, is an impoverished farmer in a small town who is constantly teased and bullied by the villagers, and is eventually sentenced to death after being mistaken as a bandit. Yet time and time again, he comforts himself through the ‘method of spiritual victory’. Ah Q’s story in the film is also a group portrait of the villagers, a reflection of the corruption and the oppression of the vulnerable within feudal society, as well as the malice of those who live in it. Bow Fong’s offscreen narration brings to life and reinforces the original novella’s satiric tone.

This 1958 film brings together three major names in modern and contemporary Chinse literature. It is an adaptation of The True Story of Ah Q, one of the most representative works of Lu Xun, a leading pioneer of modern Chinese letters. The screenplay was penned by Lu’s friend and playwright Yao Ke and writer Xu Chi, cleverly incorporating characters from Lu’s other works of fiction, ‘Medicine’ and ‘Kong Yiji’. Rookie actor Kwan Shan was cast as lead actor by producer and director Yuan Yang-an, and won Best Actor at the 11th Locarno International Film Festival, becoming the first actor in Hong Kong film history to receive an international accolade.

An adaptation of a modern literary classic, this film is especially appropriate for students studying Chinese Literature.

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