“Singing in the Wilderness” is a documentary about a Miao ethnic Christian choir group in China. After a century of living in the mountains, this choir group gets a chance to sing on the world stage. Their faith is questioned as they try to find success. This film was directed by Dongnan Chen and completed in 2019 with an extensive festival run.
This documentary starts with a monologue of a man sitting in his shack, in the mountains of western China. He says, “People say ghosts haunt our village. No one has seen them clearly but everyone is terrified. But when we gather to sing, the ghosts disappear.” This quote beautifully describes the documentary. The expressions and the emotions when the choir sings are raw. The choir’s passion and faith drive the story and bring attention to their village. Chinese tourism groups start investing in the community. The villagers are promised a bustling tourist center that would help their local economy prosper. They give up their land for this project, but when the development company encounters funding issues, production stops. This leaves some of the villagers to complete the homes themselves, but others are less fortunate and lose everything. The quote resonates because despite all the turmoil they encounter, the union of the choir still brings peace and love to their home.
The villagers singing in church. (Image Credit: Singing in the Wilderness)
Chen was contracted by a Chinese propaganda official to film this documentary about the Miao people. The purpose is to explore their culture and their religious practices. Although the contract fell through, Chen decided to continue pursuing this project simply because of the faces of the choir group members. Their facial expressions were rich with depth, Chen said, and she knew that they were going to tell a great story. This was a passion project for her, and it was strenuous because of the length of the production. Because Chen filmed from 2014 to 2019, we can see the growth of the characters. Ping, a choir member, leaves the group to get married and start a family. She isn’t happy in this relationship and is constantly belittled by her husband for her faith in Christ. There is an instance in the film where she talks about her husband hitting her for performing in front of an audience. She leaves him to live alone in the village she grew up in. This decision brings her a sense of freedom and redemption, and she rejoins the choir.
The film is shot in a simple and coherent way that focuses on the story. Since the production took five years to complete, you can definitely see the growth of the cinematographer. Each shot is incrementally better than the last and has great transitions. It is interesting that after every performance, the film reverts back to life in the village or the feelings of the choir members. The best moment of the film is when they travel to Beijing for a performance. Everyone from the audience wants to talk to the conductor, but he and the entire group are overwhelmed by the attention and want to leave. The comfort of this group matters, and they definitely don’t want the attention beyond the stage. It is exploitative to make them perform and give so much of themselves and their homes for the promise of success.
The choir in Beijing. (Image Credit: Singing in the Wilderness)
The story moves in such a way that seems fitting to each villager’s life. Some great things happen, and then everything falls apart. This is no fault of the choir’s, but that of modern China trying to incorporate minority groups to the mainstream for profit. The lives of everyone in this film change for better and worse. Some build great homes and lives for themselves, but some lose everything. This juxtaposition is important because life isn’t perfect. Everything this choir experiences, from all the attention to being ignored and abandoned, only makes them stronger. Their faith brings grand gifts but also humbles them. Their identity is questioned, but they stay true to themselves. As for the man in the beginning of the film, he is ultimately shown sitting on the side of the road as cars pass by. He may have lost everything but his faith keeps his spirits high.
“Singing in the Wilderness” screened at the 45th Asian American International Film Festival. It will premiere at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific American Film Festival in May 2023.