56. UP THE YANGTZE
 
Canada
dir. Yung Chang
world premiere 2007
U.S. release 2008
 

 
Because this documentary has the grace to admit upfront that its intended subject has long ago vanished, visible only in fleeting traces, nostalgic myths, and commodified decoys. But what the film finds in the place of ancient China is a saga of profound social upheaval, simultaneously swift and lumbering, impressively captured on film.