City without Night

Set in the 1940s, City without Night follows the fortunes of Zhang Bohan who returns from studies in England to put his father-in-law’s textile factory back on track. To overcome competition from foreign textile imports he advertises products ‘made in China’, appealing to nationalist sentiment to sell his goods. As the profits increase, Zhang gives no thought to the workers’ lot. When his fortunes change with the waning of Kuomintang influence, he moves to selling American textiles. After the Communists come to power in 1949, he tries to avoid paying taxes and skirts regulations on working conditions for employees. His daughter pushes him to admit his mistakes and because of this the government lets him off lightly. The film was produced when the government was taking over remaining private industry. During the Cultural Revolution, it was denounced as inappropriate viewing. —The 5th Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art