The movie to live was very interesting, and did have a clear message by the end of it that was difficult to pick up on in the beginning.  It made use the Yuigi’s set of puppets, which he used to provide for his family after he gambled away their entire livelihood, as a symbol to show the resiliency of the Chinese people through hard times and a turbulent and fast changing world.  And not only that, but they show how despite all of the changes that China was going through at this time, that traditions still held a place in the new Chinese world, and could still be relevant.  However, now that the puppets have been burned by the family it will be interesting to see how that affects the rest of the story.