A Bridge to the Past

Young Chinese woman holding up paper lantern walks slowly towards painted doors, beats her fists against them and screams. Young (dead) woman describing how her daughter, now living in Britain, and older than her mother, has not forgotten her and burns joss sticks and offers food for her, particularly during the Hungry Ghosts’ Festival, during which the Gate of Hell will be open for thirty days. She explains that Hell does not judge by physical appearance but by the heart. The young woman, "an ancestor, not a ghost" introduces Chung, a hungry ghost, who eats food left out by the daughter, now offering paper money. The story of Mu Lian, a disciple of the Buddha, who went to Hell in search of his mother. He sees spirits being beaten and tortured. Ancestor dancing with Chung while her daughter offers a paper aeroplane to help her return to China, a paper tape recorder, etc. Ancestor explains that Chung gets no offerings from his wife because he was an adulterer, and says he was probably castrated in Hell. Mu Lian finds his mother, now a hungry ghost. Everything he tries to feed her crumbles to nothing. Chung dancing seductively. Ancestor explains that Chinese opera groups are traditionally asked to entertain believers and ghosts for three days. Daughter worshipping Ancestor and her ancestors. Ancestor explains that her daughter burning Hell banknotes has meant that she is not lost in Hell. Mu Lian fighting a demon. His mother is distressed. Mu Lian sees Kwan Yin who passes on Buddha’s instructions to worship his ancestors and provide them with sacrificial offerings, as well as give a grand feast each year for the hungry ghosts, with the result that his mother eventually goes to Heaven. Ancestor watches her daughter as she sleeps, saying that she’s afraid of being forgotten. For her, the Hungry Ghost Festival is not just a bridge to the past: with her offerings she is also building a bridge to the future. Credits