One Child Nation Review
R: Some disturbing content/images, and brief language
Studios: Amazon Studios, Chicago Media Project
Run Time: 1 Hour and 25 Minutes
Directors: Nanfu Wang, Jialing Zhang
Release Date: August 9, 2019
China's One Child Policy, the extreme population control measure that made it illegal for couples to have more than one child, may have ended in 2015, but the process of dealing with the trauma of its brutal enforcement is only just beginning. From award-winning documentarian Nanfu Wang (Hooligan Sparrow, I Am Another You) and Jialing Zhang, the sweeping One Child Nation explores the ripple effect of this devastating social experiment, uncovering one shocking human rights violation after another -- from abandoned newborns, to forced sterilizations and abortions, and government abductions. Wang digs fearlessly into her own personal life, weaving her experience as a new mother and the firsthand accounts of her family members into archival propaganda material and testimony from victims and perpetrators alike, yielding a revelatory and essential record of this chilling, unprecedented moment in human civilization.
Several reviews ago, I expressed that I perceive depictions of life’s cruel harshness as the scariest type of horror movie. So, films such as 12 Years a Slave, Detroit, and most recently The Nightingale are all entries. But documentary filmmaking and the real life terrors of our world takes horror to a whole ‘nother level. Best believe One Child Nation is one of the most horrifying and gut-wrenching documentaries I’ve seen this year thus far and I absolutely adore it. There are two terrifying yet extraordinary docs being released this month centered on Chinese culture, and One Child Nation is one of the two.
During the late 20th century, China was suffering from an overpopulation epidemic caused by then-leader Mao Zedong’s belief that larger population meant empowerment for the country. Well, that led to a huge population growth of 940 million people born in China. Since they lacked enough resources for everyone to prosper, the government implemented a new one child policy for over a quarter of a century. The rules about it were tricky too. If your first born is a girl and the second is a boy, you get to have both children. If your first born is a boy and your second born is also a boy, then you’re good. But in the circumstance that your second born is a girl, mothers are treated like animals and forced sterilization as if they were dogs getting neutered. And just like dogs, they don’t get any say in the matter whatsoever, because human violation has no meaning. That’s just the basis of the narrative, for documentarians Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang take you on a personal and heartbreaking journey of this dark time in Chinese history.
As someone who only knew bits and pieces of this enforced law, the movie succeeds by making this story informative as you learn the deeply rooted history of how the policy came about. Also, having filmmaker Nanfu Wang interview her family and hometown friends whose occupations played a part in keeping the policy intact -- while also reflecting on herself as a mother -- makes the experience more personal.
During the 85-minute run time, you will encounter a sinking feeling and your eyes will widen as more inhumane facts are presented to you. Once it begins, it never lets up.
In the constant argument between pro-life and pro-choice, this film adds a new validating case as to why pro-choice is so important. Even though people should have the individual rights to get an abortion or not, you have this country that would do anything in its power -- from egregious propganda to threatening to imprison you -- to force you to have an abortion, even if you decide to have a second child. It gives pro-choice an argument on an international scale. It’s truly a grueling watch that you’ll most likely need a drink or two to wash away. The film is enlightening nonetheless and exceptionally well-made, but it is a story that will leave you in a state of depression that’ll make you go:
Double bill this with Netflix’s American Family later this month and ooof… you’re going to be fucked up over how wild Chinese culture is. That said, there is an area during the final part of the movie that leaves you with a bit of hope as it transitions to a heartwarming story of a girl in China attempting to reunite with her identical twin sister in America. Given how tragic the story is, it’s a great inclusion expressing how the importance of family shouldn’t be overruled by a nation and that storyline is evident.
ONE CHILD NATION is a personalized gut-punching doc that thoroughly informs and educates its audience on a problematic time in a nation’s history.
Rating: 4/5 | 88%
