The Land of Peach Blossoms

One of the skyscrapers in the Chinese city of Chongqing houses a unique restaurant. The diners at the big round table become part of a spectacular show featuring dance and martial arts, inspired by old traditions and contemporary patriotism. Behind the scenes, the company’s founder and authoritarian leader, a bored-looking chain smoker, imposes a strict collectivism. Personal opinions are forbidden, while thinking and behaving like the Leader is the ideal. Self-criticism is a frequently performed ritual. The Land of Peach Blossoms follows life in the company over several months and shows the extent to which the staff submits to this brainwashing experience. The title is borrowed from an old fable by Tao Yuanming about a utopian community. Is this restaurant a similar experiment? As the Leader’s angry tirades intensify, cracks begin to appear in his team’s faith. The exhausting work and the paltry wages don’t help in what seems to become a metaphor for modern China. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)