Scenes 41 to 47
A small orchestra is playing and a woman sings a song in front of a crowd of mutilated soldiers. The three sisters meanwhile are working in the field kitchen. Ailing tells her younger sisters that she wants to move to Hong Kong to just make money. Politics are too tiring for her. Thinking of their father who once had challenged them to become the "new women" of China, they ask each other if they have succeeded. Qingling is sceptical: after 30 years of the Republic the children still do not wear shoes [as Sun had always hoped]. They then climb the stage in front of the soldiers and are photographed together. When they are asked by a reporter whether their lives in future should not be made into a movie, Meiling answers that there could not be better actresses than they themselves. [This, probably, is intended as a joke, though it is not very convincing. In any case, this marks the whole modern history of China as a stage drama]. After the show, H. H. Kung and Ailing leave for Hong Kong. Qingling then tells Meiling that she plans to go to Shanghai, though Meiling invited her to stay in the war-time capital of "free China", Chongqing, because in her opinion there were "too many intrigues" going on there.
Alarm bells suddenly start ringing. Meiling and Qingling try to hide from the falling bombs and flashbacks lead back to earlier dramatic scenes. In fact, the whole movie is summarised in short flashbacks.
Historical film clips from newsreels are accompanied by a text, telling the viewer that Japan surrendered, that civil war broke out and was won by the Communist and that Chiang had to flee to Taiwan.
Again flashbacks lead back to earlier happier times of the Song family with scenes of singing, dancing and weddings. Charlie repeats in the off that he wanted his three daughters to do great things and to become the "new women" of China. Then the viewer is told that Meiling joined Chiang in Taiwan whereas only Qingling remained in the PRC, cooperated with the Communists and would never meet anyone of her family again.
Ever more back to the beginnings of the movie, the three little Song sisters are shown again sitting on the echo wall, citing a nursery poem. It is dark and misty.
A glass of water is passed on to old Qingling. The servant asks what would have happened if Sun had lived longer? With a fading voice, Qingling answers that there are no ifs in history. Then the cardiogram becomes an even line and the glass falls to the floor.
It is raining and Meiling sits in a wheel-chair close to a pond. The camera focuses on the bible in her hand with a picture of the crucified Jesus on the right, revealing the words Charlie had once written in it [and which Chiang had been asked by mother Song to find]: "Revolution is love and love is revolution". Then clouds cover the whole screen.
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