To Live

To Live, also titled Lifetimes in some English versions, is a 1994 Chinese drama film directed by Zhang Yimou and written by Lu Wei, based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. It is produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International, starring Ge You and Gong Li, in her 7th collaboration with director Zhang Yimou. This film is about a couple, portrayed by Ge You and Gong Li, living through tumultuous periods of modern Chinese history, from the Chinese Civil War in the late 1940s to the Cultural Revolution. After going through enormous personal difficulties and tragedies, the couple tenaciously survives and endures, witnessing the vast changes of modern China. By applying chronological narration to address the social practices of China's ideology, the film demonstrates the difficulties of the common Chinese, reflecting on how the government controls the nation as a collective community without considering their citizens. The portrayal of the Chinese people living under social pressures create the meaning of the film, as their grinding experience shows their resistance and struggles under political changes.