SCREENING INFOMAY 15, 2014, 7:00PM
The Modern Theatre at Suffolk University 525 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111 This screening honors the 145th anniversary of the joining of the Transcontinental Railroad. A conversation with Ronald Eng Young, grandson of a Chinese railroad worker, follows the screening.
Iron RoadA story of disguise and forbidden love, set against the building of the railroad
Dir. David Wu | Canada | 2009 | 95 min | Drama
Shot in Hengdian, China, and British Columbia, Canada. Writers Barry Pearson and Raymond Storey. Director David Wu. Starring Peter O'Toole, Sam Neill, Sun Li, Luke MacFarlane, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Kenneth Mitchell, Gau Yun Xiang. Producers, Raymond Massey, Anne Tait,Arnie Zipursky, Barry Pearson. Iron Road follows the journey of Little Tiger (Sun Li), a child whose quest for her long-lost father takes her from a fireworks factory in China to a remote construction camp in the Rockies. Lured by the myth of 'Gum San' - Gold Mountain - she and her countrymen travels to Canada by the thousands to do the back-breaking work of blasting through the mountains to lay track. She soon learns that railroads only bring fortune to the few and that every mile of track is purchased with fear and death. As treachery and prejudice threaten her, Little Tiger must use her wits and courage to fulfill her quest and honour her friends who died in this foreign land. Little Tiger disguises herself as a man, but develops a crush on the contractor's son, James Nichol. They become friends, him treating her as just "one of the guys." At one point, he takes his clothes off and jumps into a river for a swim, asking her to join him. She declines profusely, but secretly glances at his naked form when he isn't looking. Later, she reveals to him that she is a woman and confesses her attaction. They begin an affair, which continues until disrupted when the Chinese construction foreman dies saving her when her safety rope breakes as she places dynamite charges on a cliff. It is discovered that the foreman is actually the father she has been looking for and that the rope had been sabotaged deliberately. Learning that her father's last wish was to have his ashes returned to China, she decides to leave the railway camp to do so. James wants to leave Canada with her so they can spend their lives together, but she refuses because they are from different worlds and she fears the "social implications". Interracial or inter ethnic relationships was generally discouraged at the time. Official Iron Road Website: http://www.ironroadthemovie.com Cast, Director, Producers, Writers
The Story a story of disguise and forbidden love,
set against the building of the railroad This is the story of three lives brought together in the high mountains of the west. Lured by the myth of "Gum San", the Gold Mountain where fortunes are made, thousands of desperate Chinese workers leave their homeland with a dream – to make their fortune in North America by laying a coast-to-coast railroad through the treacherous mountain passes. They learn that railroads only bring fortune to the few. They learn that building a railroad means explosives and iron, rock and wood. Every foot is purchased with muscle and sweat. Every mile is bought with courage, fear, and death. The Canadian Pacific Railway, completed in 1885, was the last of the great iron roads built in North America and left behind a mythology that lives today as part of our heritage. Iron Road is the story of the hard-won triumph of a Chinese street urchin named Little Tiger, whose quest for her long-lost father takes her from a fireworks factory in China to a remote construction camp in the Rockies. She falls in love, survives prejudice and treachery, and achieves a bittersweet fulfillment of her quest. It’s the story of the transformation of James Nichol, the irresponsible son of a railroad tycoon, a night traveler without a star, into a man of character and purpose. And it's the story of a Book Man, the Chinese overseer of Little Tiger's crew -- proud, scarred, a rebel hunted down by his enemies, struggling for revenge in that perilous world. Their story is a window into the neglected history of how Chinese workers helped forge the railroad that held Canada together. It begins in Southern China in a fireworks factory where Little Tiger ekes out a living, disguised as a teenaged boy. A handsome North American playboy named James Nichol is about to walk into her life and change it forever. AwardsLeo Award (win) Best Cinematography in a Feature Length Drama for Attila Szalay
Leo Award (win) Best Production Design in a Features Length Drama for Linda Del Rosario Leo Award (win) Best Costume Design in a Feature Length Drama for Maya Mani Leo Award (win) Best Make-Up in a Feature Length Drama for Joanne Kinchella Dominican Film Festival, Audience Favourite Award at the Dominican Film Festival Roma FictionFest, Best Actress, miniseries for Sun Li |
Modern Theatre at Suffolk University (525 Washington St., Boston, MA 02111)
Public TransporationGreen Line
Boylston Street or Park Street Red Line Downtown Crossing or Park Street Orange Line Chinatown or Downtown Crossing ParkingParking:
Street parking are available around the area. There are also many lots and garages in the area. Please see the parking page for more information. |
Co-presented by Chinese Historical Society of New England (CHSNE), Rosenberg Institute for East Asian Studies/Suffolk University and Bridgewater State University. Funding provided in part by MA Cultural Council, Deloitte, Charles River Neighborhood Foundation, The Boston Foundation and Tufts Medical Center.
