René Viénet

  • René Viénet – Mao par lui-même AKA Mao by Mao (1977)

    1971-1980DocumentaryFranceRené Viénet

    Synopsis
    A film autobiography of Mao Tse-tung, leader of China from 1947 through until his death in 1976, drawn exclusively from his own writings, diaries, speeches and personal notes. Incorporates footage never before seen outside of China.

    A film-détournement biography of Mao Tse-tung in which the life of the recently deceased Great Helmsman is told in his own words, using quotes culled from various Red Guard publications. The rise to power of the film’s namesake appears as the inevitable outcome of a dialectical logical. Or so the voice-over might lead one to believe. If the usual practice of détourned films is for the soundtrack to undermine the image, here the reverse occasionally takes place. The images critique Mao’s words. They show that which, even in the official visual record of the times, the narrative elides. The film is dedicated to Li Yhi Zhe, the nominal author of a famous Democracy Wall critique of the Maoist state.Read More »

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