Peacock (2005 film)


Peacock is a 2005 film directed by Gu Changwei, written by Li Qiang. This is Gu's first film as director after a lengthy career as a cinematographer for some of China's top directors. The film premiered simultaneously in both China and in competition at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival, going on to receive Berlin's Jury Grand Prix Silver Bear.
Its original runtime was over four hours, but was reduced to 144 minutes for its theatrical release.

Synopsis

The story is set in the late 1970s and early 1980s, in a small town in Mainland China. A middle-aged couple has three children. The eldest son is obese and mentally challenged, a social outcast, and is constantly teased by others. The second child, the daughter, is energetic and independent and isn't afraid of doing anything to pursue her dreams or to survive. The youngest child is an introverted, quiet boy who is ashamed of his older brother and tries to break away from his family's misery.
The story is broken into three sections, with each focusing on one of the siblings. The story begins with the daughter, Weihong eating at a table with her family. The mother arranges for her to start work at a nursery but a few days later she drops a child and loses her job. After watching army officers parachuting from a plane, she wonders to the field where they land. She develops a crush on one of the male officers and decides to enlist at her school. In order to get his attention, she steals her mother's money to buy him gifts but ultimately does not give it to him after seeing him playing table tennis with other girls. She is not enrolled and becomes depressed after seeing the other enlisted men and women. She locks herself in her room and refuses to eat, and has to be force-fed by her family. Despite not living her dream, she knits a makeshift parachute and attaches it to her bike, which she rides down the street before she is stopped by her mother. Her action draws the interest of Guozi, a boisterous factory worker, who takes her parachute. After some time, Wei Hong is working at a factory washing pharmaceutical bottles and sees Guozi with her parachute attached to his bike. They arrange a meeting in the woods and Guozi suggestively asks for something in return for the parachute but nothing happens. Afterward, she meets an old man playing the accordion and they develop a father-daughter relationship. However, the old man's children suspect her of taking advantage of him and beat her whilst she is working at the factory. Having had all her dreams crushed, Weihong decides to get married. Through her parent's connections, she is introduced to a district leader's driver and they wed, on the condition that she is given a new job. Before she leaves with her husband, she gives her older brother a watch and bids farewell to her family.
The story then shifts back to the family eating at a table and this time follows the events of the older brother, Weiguo. He is often bullied and has to change jobs. However, his parents dote on him, to the chagrin of the younger brother who has to look after him. At a bathhouse, someone sets off a firecracker in Weiguo's cigarette causing him to have a seizure. Weihong asks for Guozi's help in getting revenge, who beats the bully. When Weiguo shows up at school to bring Weiqiang an umbrella, he is falsely accused of being a peeping tom whilst standing outside the girls' bathroom. He is beaten by a group of boys and Weiqiang is also publicly ridiculed. Out of contempt, Weiqiang stabs Weiguo in the leg with an umbrella. Weiqiang becomes ostracized by his classmates but one girl who helps him once out of pity. When the girl rejects Weiqiang's advances, he decides to get rid of Weiguo and buys rat poison0 that he intends to add to Weiguo's drink at night. However, Weihong finds out and stops him, and the father hears the commotion. The next morning, while everyone is eating at the table, the mother pours the rat poison in a glass and gives it to a duck causing it to convulse and die in front of the family. Weiqiang realizes his mistake, treating Weiguo with a meal, and buying him a baby duck to atone for his wrongdoing. Weiqiang has limited interaction with women, who often mock his disability but his parents arrange a meeting with a crippled girl. Although they argue at their first meeting, they become dependent on each other and set a small food stall.
Finally, the story returns to the family eating at the table and Weiqiang becomes the focus. He is infatuated with the girl who helped him earlier on. After his father discovers drawings of naked women in his textbook he is threatened with being kicked out. Weiqiang leaves on his own accord and does not return for many days. Guozi spots Weiqiang one day and, with Weihong, they follow him to an elderly care home and find him working there. Since he has been discovered, Weiqiang gets on a train the next day and leaves the town he grew up in. When people ask Weihong where his brother has gone, she imagines he has accomplished her own dream of becoming an army officer.
A few years go by, and only the parents are shown eating at the table. Weihong returns after separating from her husband. Weiguo and his wife are still continuing their business, which has taken off and has attracted many customers. Weiqiang also returns one day with a wife and son. He has lost a finger but does not explain this. He does not work and instead relies on his wife as a stage singer to support him. Weihong spots the army officer she used to idolize but finds that he has become a regular person in the streets. In the ending scene, Weihong is shown to have remarried and all three siblings pass by a peacock enclosure with their families, making remarks about why the peacock won't open its feathers. When they have left, the peacock opens its feathers.

Cast