355577
355577

Mao by Mao

1977-05-01
5
en 28m
DocumentaryHistory
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.

Director

René Viénet

Director

Francis Deron

Director

Wu Xing-ming

Producer

Charles-Henri Favrod

Producer

Helène Vager

Status

Released

Countries

  • France

Companies

  • Les Films des Iles
  • INA