他们选择了中国 They Chose China(2005)

主演: 克拉伦斯·亚当斯 Della Adams Howard Adams Lin Adams Claude Batchelor Richard Corden Edward Dickinson Lewis Griggs David Hawkins Portia Howe Arlie Pate Meide Qian Lowell Skinner Richard Tenneson James Veneris 王水泊

类型: 纪录片

制片国家/地区: 加拿大

上映日期: 2005

片长: 52分钟 IMDb: tt1446198 豆瓣评分：8.1 下载地址：迅雷下载

简介：

2006年该片获得了第49届旧金山国际电影节最佳长电视纪录片奖Golden Gate Award；具有奥斯卡入围资格的美国BLACK MARIA 国际电影录像节评委会一等奖；休斯敦国际电影节最佳纪录片奖REMI AWARD；在美国斯坦福大学举行的第6届联合国协会电影节评委会大奖；国际纪录片协会2006年度卓越纪录片成就奖提名。并入选2006年多伦多国际纪录片电影节HOTDOCS,以及首次在亚洲举办的INPUT 2006台北国际公共电视大展等诸多国际影展。

演员：

影评：

初看这个记录片的时候，我是抱着猎奇的心态看的。说实话，在看这个纪录片之前，我从没有意识到还有优待俘虏以及那个年代外国人在中国生活这样的这样的事情，更惊讶于那个俘虏奥运会。当然对于那一段历史我也是一窍不通的。我相信导演拍这部戏的初衷，也像他在片头说的那样，震惊于在冷战时期的济南的街头看到一个骑自行车的外国人。

所以第一遍对我来说就是一个颠覆概念的冲击。这种冲击相信不只是我，大部分第一次了解这段故事的人差不多都感受到了。一方说当年的中宣部很强悍，国人很友好，一方说导演对中国有倾向性。

其实，我倒是觉得导演只是很简单的记录下了几位老者的画面、资料以及采访。略显抒情，但还是打动我的。对，时隔几年后，第二次看的感觉是有些感慨。

不论最后是否留在中国，基本上几位老人都反对战争、痛恨战争。也不管评论里大家怎么说政治目的，至少当年确实也算是有救命之恩。普通人之间，也是有真诚对待的时刻。

固然被许多人嘲笑反复被洗脑，但实际上作为一个个体，十几岁的时候上战场已是身不由己，被俘也是。无论选择去哪里，都是对生活怀有期望的，只是大部分都过得比较尴尬（作为俘虏及变节者），特别是电视采访那一段以及黑人大叔描述自己的经历的部分。我觉得蛮感动的是，老人家年轻的时候在那种舆论环境下，接受访谈节目，说的话还是很诚恳、坚持了自己的认知：那场战争是无意义的，中美应该加深了解。黑人大叔尽管到过得不如意，但访谈言语之间，让人觉得是个开朗的人。留在中国的老爷爷，也是很开朗的样子。

有一句特别有感触，原话不记得了，就是外国老人回到中国，见到武汉的工厂的同事，同事说了一句“我们都健康的又活了50多年”。

是的，当你老了，作为个体，你回顾这一生估计已经没有多少时间用来后悔或者抱怨了，所以老人回中国的路上常说感觉像回家。记录片里也没提他在美国的生活，所以我相信至少在有一段时间里，他们都留下了美好的青春记忆在这里。作为旁观者，我们感受到了战争的残酷、命运的无常，也看到了生活及生命的多样性。
Before watching this documentary, I belonged to the unsophisticated sort that dread the monotony of documentaries. This film bitch-slapped me in the face. It was so fresh, so different and so illuminating that I started to regret having watched so few documentaries in my life.

The issue discussed in this documentary is really unorthodox and immensely interesting : Why the 22 US & UK prisoners captured by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War refused to return to their home countries and instead chose to remain in China.

When this question was first introduced in the film, my reflexive (and cynical) answer was that maybe these young, impressionable soldiers were brainwashed by the compelling Communist teachings they received during their capture, turning them into ardent believers in Communism. The Western world at that time thought so too. However, footages and interviews in the film invalidated these sceptical conjectures and proved them to be misinformed and baseless. Such an illuminating revelation disclosed to me the dangerous weakness in myself (and in most of us): At times when information and the truth were not available, we too readily resort to speculations based on our ignorant bigotry and make up our versions of imaginary stories that we hold dearly to.

The second speculated answer to the question was that these soldiers had committed ignominious crimes such as murder and theft on other soldiers and they had chosen to stay in China to evade the retribution back in their home countries. Such malicious accusations were dismissed in an interview by Mr. David Hawkins, one of the 22 soldiers (though without any convincing proof for his claim of innocence).

Instead, these prisoners of war (POW) offered various reasons for their stay. Some claimed that they chose to stay in China because they condemned the US's act of military intervention in Korea and they wished to call for peace. Some feared the possibility of being labelled as the spies from Red China and the inescapable destiny of being persecuted by McCarthyism if they return. The first reason of peace-pursuing sounded too noble and saintly for a cynic like me and I personally thought the second reason, fear for persecution, to be more genuine. At a time when the anti-Communism tide was high in the US, these soldiers stained with the Red stigma literally had no choice but to stay in China. They became the victims betrayed by their beloved countries, the scapegoats sacrificed in the unrelenting tide of history. (The truth is so sad and so ugly.)

The documentary then went on to portray these POWs' lives in China. They unanimously agreed that the Chinese were really nice to them and they led happy and meaningful lives in China. But after 1960, they were no longer addressed as "comrade" but as "Mr." instead, revealing the subtle change in their status from "dear friends" to "suspicious foreigners". Then came the Cultural Revolution...

Despite the positive light casted on their lives in China in the documentary, I maintain the view that they are tragic. Their fate was at mercy of the political environment. They were like the powerless chess pieces in a political game, being manipulated and exploited, being labelled as "traitors" (by the US) or "peace-makers" (by China) for different political purposes.

The director shared with us that his intention for shooting this documentary was to denounce wars and to advocate for peace. However, to me, I saw the revolting hypocrisy and sanctimony of the US government at that time and I saw the powerlessness and desperation of the victims of politics, not war. So, besides advocating for peace, I wish that politicians will care for their compatriots and countries will protect their countrymen so such history will not repeat itself.
谁不会在自己命运转折时刻选择趋利避害？如果你作为一名解放路战士参加中越战争被俘得知回国后将面临二三十年牢狱之灾，你TM还会选择回国？被迫参加了一场莫名其妙战争还莫名其妙被自己国家判刑，是美国先背叛了他们，他们才会背叛美国。
      他们有的是黑人，不堪忍受种族歧视选择了中国。有的是十七岁的孩子，好奇心趋势选择中国。有的是为了躲避牢狱之灾，选择了中国。但不管怎样，他们都是普通人，他们都是战争的牺牲品。他们是美国反战浪潮的先行者，如果美国民众能早点明白美国过分插手他国内政，就不会有越南战争的后悔。可以说他们苟且偷生，但是他们不得不是和平斗士，历史的各类角色总需要人来扮演，我想这就是乱世出英雄的一种解释吧。
     ps 美国种族歧视到今天还有阴影，在当今歧视已犯法的美国当今，白人警察枪击黑人致死的案件屡屡发生。奥兰多枪击案，弗格森枪击案，包括昨天发生的黑人群体针对白人警察开枪打死黑人事件开展的有组织有预谋的报复性的射杀五名白人警察事件（正在调查处理中），中国虽然也有不少缺点，但是没有歧视任何民族。发达国家美国歧视黑人，发展中国家印度歧视女性，发展中国家中国在民族包括性别对待上的公平的却优于他国。
       朝鲜战争时期，中美敌对关系。美国被描述为帝国主义，霸权国家。资本主义生活糜烂，腐朽人心，必将灭亡被社会主义取代。中国被描述为独裁国家，贫困落后，没有民主人权，内乱不断。后来
    中国：1958年开始大跃进，结局不说了，事实证明人名公社会饿死人，共产主义没那么容易，不过改革开放后人民倒是尝到了资本主义的好处，成为了世界第二大经济体。
   美国：麦卡锡主义横行，美国人人自危，反共主义浪潮名义绑架下的调查暗访给了这个民主自由国家一记耳光，到现在还是干预他国内政，08年受经济危机影响，借债于中国。
     时间有时候会见证一切黑色幽默，包括任何国家，你把他夸的越高就摔的越重。现在的英国脱离欧盟不正是关于卡梅伦的黑色幽默吗？
政治跟战争怎是我等屁民能干涉得，你玩政治，你就是一个神经病，你玩战争，你就是一条狗，进入这两个题材，无论任何形式，映射入观众头脑的东西，都基本上是毫无意义的。如果米国近几年有很多法律和医学的真实案例拿来拍电影借此反对体制问题被屁民们奉为圭臬，说是彰显了人性的光辉，道德的法度，甚至是开启民智！诚然不可不说毫无意义，但根本不现实，米国这么吊也敢马上改么？再说，这毕竟是少数精英或疯子做的事，比政治家们还疯还神经，有足够心理准备，一无所有的人才可以。
所以政战之影像资料，除彰显生命珍贵，兄弟之情谊，哪怕没有半点政治成分，因为就是有半点政治成分，已经是被老鼠坏的一锅屎了。