'Crazy English' by Zhang Yuan follows Li Yang, the founder of 'Crazy English', in his quest to teach millions of Chinese the English language. He is keen to re-iterate in each of his 'motivational' speeches; the pure linguistic necessity of learning English will therefore lead China into becoming the dominant international society. i.e. there will be a snowball effect, where, by learning English now - will mean in the future the rest of the world will be learning Chinese.
This is all very well, but Li Yang's methods and his attitude become more and more disconcerting as the film progresses. His (masked) 'motivation', which he preaches to his followers, is to help them lead better lives and to make China a more prominent player in the international economy; actually reveals him as being heavily nationalistic, to the point where, in my opinion, he becomes quite shockingly fascist.
As wikipedia rightly extrapolates: "Li Yang's mass rallies begin to resemble Mao-era Red Guard
rallies or even Hitler's Nuremberg Rally." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_English_(film)
For me, I also found it a difficult film to watch, as I often found myself confused as to where Zhang Yuan's prerogative lay. At points the film seems to be focused on his own (Zhang Yuan's) admiration for Li Yang, at other times his pointed disgust as he follows Li Yang and his own concern as to the powers of persuasion that can follow such celebrated persons.
It is also one of those films that I know will sit in my head and continue to be thought about. A powerful insight into a popular figure in China, and alarming that an individual can command such a profile and respect from a large segment of a society can still exist.
You can watch the film here http://www.theauteurs.com/films/1307 for a bargain at £3
