Through Julia's Eyes

    

 

《我最后的秘密》（纪录片）

  摄影：黎小锋
  录音：贾  恺
  导演\剪辑：黎小锋 贾 恺
  出品：CNEX,黎小锋
  彩色，90分钟，2008年
   
   [内容简介]
      在苏州一条粉墙黛瓦的老街上，住着一个出生名门的九旬老太和她60多岁的保姆.主仆俩天天吵吵闹闹，既彼此抱怨，又相守相依。
      人到暮年，无儿无女，爱恨交织的青春记忆让老太挥之不去，而最让她割舍不下的，就是准备偷偷捐献出去的财产。围绕着老太的遗嘱，保姆和远方亲戚各怀心思，轮番登台。但谁都不知道，老太内心深处，又是怎样一个世界……

 

Story
  On an ancient Suzhou street with traditional white walls and black tiles,an old lady in her nineties lives with her caretaker who is in her sixties. The old lady comes from a prestigious family and was a national athletic star during her college years. After fleeing to Suzhou from Shanghai together with her lover, her life was filled with hardship. Her husband didn’t leave her, but always betrayed her, and in the end passed away before her. After her husband’s death, the old lady, who has no children, wrote a will that she will give all her money to the local university for a scholarship.

The old lady treated her will as a secret. However, everybody knew this secret. People couldn’t understand why she would give money to students who had never taken care of her? Once while she was sick and had an unclear mind, her care-taker made her write a slip promising to give the caretaker RMB 20,000. In order to get this money, the care-taker began to study and learn one Chinese character a day. The old lady was hospitalized for several times and lots of valuable furniture was taken away by her niece, which made the caretaker envious. So, the caretaker and the niece began to bad-mouth each other before the old lady…

Before we know it, six years passed. Half of the old street was dismantled and the other half remains. With all the happenings in the world, the old lady lived through the frustration in her life and was revitalized at age 95, just like an ancient tree producing new buds. Under the autumn sunlight and with the caretaker by her side, she caressed the remaining bit of a photo showing her with rosy lips, missedher late husband, and pondered how her secret would one day be disclosed and what legacy she would leave — all things that seem meaningless to those around her.
 
Production Team

• Presented by CNEX, Li Xiaofeng
• Producers: Ben Tsiang, Li Xiaofeng, Jia Kai
• Directors: Li Xiaofeng, Jia Kai
• Executive Producers: Situ Zhaodun, Hsu Hsiao-Ming, Chang Chao-Wei, Ruby Chen
• Camera: Li Xiaofeng
• Sound recording: Jia Kai
• Editor: Jia Kai

Director Profile
Li Xiaofeng
Born in Pingxiang of Jiangxi Province and now living in Shanghai, Li Xiaofeng is the author of Films in the 20th Century and Creation of Documentary Films. Representative film works: THE STRIKER OF SPRING GONG, The Best Short Documentary at the 8th Beijing Film Festival of University Students in 2001; THE NIGHT GOER, 2005, participated in the 20th Fribourg International Film Festival and the 8th Taipei Film Festival, as well as many international film exhibitions; LEATHER SHOES OR STRAW SANDALS, selected for NHK International High Resolution Documentary Project in 2006; A STREET OF ONE HUNDRED PACES (under production).

Jia Kai
Born in Suide of Shaanxi Province, Jia Kai obtains his master’s degree from Art Department of Beijing Normal University and now is a lecturer with College of Communication and Art of Shanghai Tongji University. She is the translator of three books including Robert J. Flaherty: A Biography and participated in the production of films such as THE NIGHT GOER, LEATHER SHOES OR STRAW SANDALS, and A STREET OF ONE HUNDRED PACES. In addition, she has also produced many programs for CCTV, Beijing TV Station, and Shanghai TV Station.