The Square is a 1994 Chinese documentary film directed by Zhang Yuan. It is Zhang's first true documentary film, after two documentary-influenced fiction films: Mama and Beijing Bastards.
Filmed in black and white, The Square documents a day in the life of Tiananmen Square a few years after the events of 1989.
The film documents a day in the life of Tiananmen Square in 1994, a mere five years after the crushing of a student-led democracy movement in 1989. The events captured are considered "mundane" but illustrate the level of control exerted over the Square by the authoritarian government. While children play with kites and old men toss frisbees, police and soldiers are also ever-present.
Near the end of the film, PLA soldiers array cannons in preparation for a salute to a visiting head of state. As the guns are fired, Zhang focuses his camera on the reactions of the ordinary citizens. For one critic, the film "seem to suggest the ceaseless and draining effort the government must expend to maintain its awesome facade of monolithic power over its citizens."
The concept of a documentary film about Tiananmen Square shortly after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 began while Zhang
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