Weighing Life and Death: Judge Director Liu Jie

A prisoner on death row for stealing cars, a man who wants the prisoner’s kidney, and a traumatized judge whose marriage is falling apart. Hardly the stuff of the typical anodyne movies showing in Beijing’s cinemas. Yet somehow Chinese filmmaker Liu Jie manages to weave all these elements into his new film Judge (Touxi) – and got the film approved to boot.

Judge tells the story of a man sentenced to death for stealing three cars in 1997. Before the execution was carried out, however, there was a change in the law and the presiding judge was faced with a tough legal decision about whether to spare the man’s life. The case was complicated by the fact that the prisoner had already agreed to donate his kidney to a man desperately in need of a donor.

Liu’s film is currently screening as part of BC MOMA’s “Young Chinese Filmmakers” showcase. Dan Edwards caught up with Liu Jie in the cinema’s café to talk with him about the challenges of filmmaking in China.

Your new film Judge is based on a true story. How closely does the film follow the facts of the original case?
Everything in the story is real. I took many real incidents and knitted them into a story. Parts of the story came from media reports, and parts came from things that happened to people around me, but I didn't directly interview the judge who dealt with this case. The original case happened in Shaanxi, and the local government didn't want to walk about it. I interviewed a lot of criminal judges in Hebei province and they gave me their points-of-view on the case.

So were the characters based on the real people involved in the original case?
Sort of – the judge in the film is actually a mix of many criminal law judges I know. Criminal judges are a very special group, very different from judges dealing with commercial or civil law. If you want to invite judges from these other areas to dinner they're more than happy to come and have fun, and they're all very relaxed. But criminal law judges are under a lot of pressure.

Judge touches on a lot of topics considered sensitive in China. Did you have a lot of difficulty getting approval to make the film?
Yes, there were some difficulties but we overcame them in the end. The most difficult thing was the fact that government departments were not sure about this, and they didn't want this talked about.

There were two reasons I think this film was approved. Firstly, the authenticity of the film. We have a special situation in China, whereby any films related to the legal system or legislative issues are not approved by SARFT [the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television ] but by the Gong jian fa [legal departments]. So every single sentence and every detail in the film is very accurate – if there were any small mistakes they picked them up.

Secondly, the thinking of officials has improved. You can tell them that this is what really happened, and the aim of the film is not to say something bad, but to look back at the truth and make people think about the progress we have made. It has become possible to communicate with the authorities in general.

The advantage of this system is you have a lot of free professional consulting, and they will point out a lot of things that are not right, and correct them [laughs].

Your last film [Courthouse on Horseback, 2006] was also about a character working in the legal system. What is it about this area that interests you?
I think this topic is really meaningful for society. My generation of directors tends to care more about people on the fringes of society. Of course I think those people should be represented, but I feel the mainstream of society is more important. The legal system is a very important part of the mainstream.

Do you hope your films can help inspire change or reform within China's legal system?
If my film could help with reform of the legal system then that would really mean something. When I heard about this story I was really shocked. Something that happens today we think is quite normal, but ten years later we think it's really ridiculous.

What are you planning next?
My original plan was to shoot a third and fourth film about the legal system. But I think it's a bit difficult now – I want a break, I want to change to another topic. I can't be at the vanguard all the time [laughs]. I want to make an historical film about the end of the Qing Dynasty.

Liu Jie's Judge screens at Broadway Cinematheque MOMA; at 7.30pm, Friday May 28. In Chinese with English subtitles. RMB 30. See the BC MOMA website for future screening times.