In 2012, Frank Darabont’s film “The Shawshank Redemption”, a cult film that needs no introduction, was censored by the Beijing authorities. The reason? Political of course, echoing an affair that poisoned Sino-American diplomacy…
Within the Middle Kingdom, censorship is operating frantically, in all possible areas. Movies are no exception. On the contrary, with sometimes surreal reasons, beyond the political reasons that are particularly problematic for the Beijing Authorities.
Anything relating to witchcraft, spiritualism, the undead, ghosts, etc. is banned from Chinese screens. Homosexuality? A taboo. Anything related to “pseudo sciences” or against the laws of physics is prohibited: goodbye, for example, a film like Back to the Future. The list is very long… We gave some astonishing examples.
Brilliant adaptation of the short story Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemptionwritten by Stephen King and published in the collection Different seasons, Les Evadés has become over the years and through word of mouth an absolutely cult work. A lyrical, cruel and moving show carried by fabulous actors, Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman in the lead.
Escapees who irritate Beijing
In 2012, the Chinese ax fell on Frank Darabont’s film, at least for a while. The film was in fact completely censored from Chinese web search engines, due to an affair which poisoned Sino-American diplomacy: the affair surrounding a dissident, Chen Guangcheng.
A famous lawyer, also blind, human rights activist and fighter against the corruption of Chinese political leaders in the countryside, he was finally arrested and imprisoned for four years and three months, before being placed under house arrest in 2010 in his house located in Dongshigu. Two years later, in April 2012, he escaped in the middle of the night and found refuge at the United States embassy in Beijing.
On May 19, 2012, following lengthy negotiations, he, his wife and two children finally received a passport and authorization from the Chinese authorities to travel to Beijing International Airport for a departure to the United States.
Warner Bros.
The case received such resounding media coverage that some at the time spoke of The Dongshigu Redemption; obvious analogy to Darabont’s film, The Shawshank Redemption in the original version. The resonance of the film’s theme, hope, a man’s desire for freedom and his fierce determination, his spectacular escape too: elements and a comparison with a work that aroused tension in Beijing, ordering the censorship of the film on the internet.
“I swear to you, wherever I go in the world, everywhere, there are people who tell me how much “Les Évadés” changed their lives” said Tim Robbins, in an interview with Vanity Fair in 2014. Even citing an exchange he had on this subject with Nelson Mandela, a political prisoner locked in terrible conditions for 27 years, who would become the first president of post-apartheid South Africa. And who loved The escapees. A definitely very inspiring film.
