Xiao cai feng (2002) Reviews

• Beautifully understated

  j30bell2006-03-17

  This Sino-French film breaks no particular new ground, is not strong on action or drama, and is unlikely to move you either to great joy, or to tears. Despite this, there is something innately satisfying about watching it, which defies casual analysis. The story centres on two young men, Ma and Luo. Coming from "reactionary bourgeois" families in the city, they are sent by the Chinese authorities for "re-education" to a beautiful yet achingly backward and isolated community in the mountains. There they undertake menial work, live in comparative squalor, but predictably find love in the form of the same woman – known throughout the film simply as "the little seamstress". While "Balzac…" will win few originality awards, its strength lies in execution. Sijie Dai manages to tell his story (which is semi-autobiographical) in a straightforward way. The local party chief is ignorant and officious without ever descending into malignancy. Ma and Luo are engaging without being overtly benevolent. The "peasants" are ignorant without being stupid. As love blossoms, the emotion of the film moves from repression to longing. There are some wonderful, poignant moments in the film too, which underscore the mood. The local party chief exclaims early in the film "revolutionary peasants will never be corrupted by filthy bourgeois chicken"; Ma and Luo are sent to the cinema with instructions to tell the story to the village on their return; the little seamstress comments wistfully that she can "see planes flying overhead, and wonder to what far cities they are going" reminding us painfully that this is the 1960s not the 1860s. Mostly, though, the audience is reminded of the futility of repression; the insatiable thirst for knowledge and new ideas, even among the villagers who are transfixed by the basic choices to be found in a city-boy's cookbook. The cinematography is also wonderful. Apart from the flood sequence at the end, there is nothing flashy about it (and, given the scenery, it's possible that even I could do a fair job of making the film look pretty) but it is precisely the understated nature of the cinematography that I loved. If the film has any particular weakness, its end (at least in terms of the Phoenix Mountain segment) is abrupt and seems not to follow logically from what has gone before. This is a small criticism though. Many films today, even the good ones, seem to force their themes upon the audience by brute force, yet upon leaving the cinema, there seems little to talk about or ruminate over. "Balzac…", at least for me, was the opposite. Its light touch has worked its way into my unguarded consciousness. It is a welcome guest, and long may it stay.

• A sentimental tone poem

  howard.schumann2003-02-03

  In 1971, Mao's Cultural Revolution swept over China, shutting down universities and banishing "reactionary intellectuals", meaning boys and girls who had graduated from high school, to the countryside to be re-educated by the poor peasants. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, France's nominee for Best Foreign Film at this year's Golden Globe Awards, is about re-education and is based on the experience of the director Dai Sijie who spent four years of his life in a similar program. In this French/Chinese collaboration, two teenage boys, Ma (Ye Liu), a stand-in for Sijie, and Luo (Kun Chen), are sent to live on the remote mountain known as Phoenix in the Sky. Sijie describes the setting in his autobiographical novel of the same name, "The Phoenix of the Sky comprised some twenty villages scattered along the single serpentine footpath or hidden in the depths of gloomy valleys. Usually each village took in five or six young people from the city. But our village, perched on the summit and the poorest of them all, could only afford two: Luo and me. We were assigned quarters in the very house on stilts where the village headman had inspected my violin. This building was village property, and had not been constructed with habitation in mind. Underneath, in the space between the wooden props supporting the floor, was a pigsty occupied by a large, plump sow-likewise common property. The structure itself was made of rough wooden planks, the walls were unpainted and the beams exposed; it was more like a barn for the storage of maize, rice and tools in need of repair." In the early part of the film, the boys have to use their wits to stay one step ahead of the authorities. In one incident, when the village chief wants to confiscate their violin because he thinks it is a bourgeois toy, they save their instrument by telling him they will play a sonata called "Mozart is Thinking of Mao". In another episode, the chief burns a cookbook, the only book the boys have brought with them, because "Revolutionary peasants will never be corrupted by a filthy bourgeois chicken." Ma and Luo seek to avoid the heavy work that takes its toll by reading books and enjoying music. They steal "subversive" novels of Honore de Balzac, Flaubert, Dostoevsky, and Gogol from a student named Four-Eyes and read them to the granddaughter of the local tailor, known only as the Little Chinese Seamstress (Xun Zhou,). While reading, both boys fall in love with the girl, and, through Balzac, discover "awakening desire, passion, impulsive action, love, all the subjects that had, until then, been hidden". The unsophisticated girl is deeply affected and feels herself "carried away in a dream". Inspired by the literature, she seeks to escape from the limitations of her present life. By the time the end credits roll around, her biggest influence has been, not Chairman Mao or the Village Chief, but Balzac himself. Talk about a Cultural Revolution. While the acting is strong, Xun Zhou looks more like a model from a Beijing studio than a naïve mountain seamstress and the boys seem more like symbols of the power of art than real people undergoing a difficult and painful experience. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress wants to tell an important story, but comes across as a bit too precious, trivializing its material in a sentimental tone poem that ultimately fails to satisfy. It may, however, succeed in stimulating a revival of Pere Goriot.

• Adorable Poetic Love Story in Times of Changing

  claudio_carvalho2005-10-24

  In 1971, in the China of Mao Tse Tung, the two university students Luo (Kun Chen) and Ma (Ye Liu) are sent to a mountain mining village with very ignorant peasants and also a Maoist rehabilitation camp, to be reeducated. Both fall in love for the illiterate granddaughter of the local tailor, called "little seamstress". They become friends, and Luo and Ma steal forbidden books of western literature, and while they read the books and teach the little seamstress, they also tell the story to the community and play classical music in the violin, developing and improving their lives. What a magnificent and beautiful movie is "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress". In a wonderful landscape with stunning scenery, this revolutionary love story about the importance of books to improve the life of people is very believable and I am not sure whether it is based on a true story. I regret that the DVD released in Brazil by Europa distributor has interviews with the cast and director spoken in Mandarin and without subtitles. My vote is ten. Title (Brazil): "Balzac e a Costureirinha Chinesa" ("Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress")

• Reading the French classics

  jotix1002005-09-19

  Sijie Dai's wonderful novel, "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" was a joy to read. The author, who one thinks must live in France, made it possible for people that haven't read the book to see it as a motion picture that captures the spirit of the novel. The action takes place in the China of the Red Brigades. As they swept the country, they wanted to rid of all foreign influence in their culture because it was perceived as a threat to the system. Among the people that fell prey to the hysteria of those days, two young city young men were apprehended and sent to a remote area by the magical Phoenix mountains to start work in one of the mines in the area as part of their reeducation, or brain washing process. Young Luo and Ma, can't do without their beloved books and the violin that one of them played. Suddenly, these two young men are once again seen as a threat to their small community which is dominated by a man with a small mind who sees evil everywhere. The young men are appalled when they discover that most of the people around them are illiterate. Thus begins a series of readings from the classical books, mostly French, and the young men disguise as coming from another source. When the tailor for the area arrives with his little assistant, both Luo and Ma can't help in falling in love for her. Only one of them will be successful in being loved back by the beautiful young woman. The film is beautiful to watch. The impressive backdrop to the story serves as a distraction, at times, into this majestic area of China. The director has achieved a magic moment for the viewer by capturing beautiful images about a place at the end of the world.

• A reminder of why I like escapism

  mel2surf2003-10-20

  I wanted to see a few films at the recent Asian Film Festival here in San Diego. So I chose three films that seemed to grab my interest. "Balzac and The Little Chinese Seamstress" was one of them. So after seeing an ok film from Taiwan the night before,I headed down to the cool art theatre this night to catch "The Little Chinese Seamstress." Wow! Packed house...wow! one empty seat next to me,and an attractive Asian girl by herself sits down..wow! I was lost in the film,as was the rest of the audience(including the cute girl) This film took a wide eyed,but intelligent swipe at the upside down vision of Mao's Cultural Revolution,and asked us"What if?" The simple,humorous story,and the lead characters drew that whole audience in,and reminded me of why I like the movies. I like a good heavy drama as much as anyone,but as I sat there in the dark packed house that night flying over the most beautiful lush Chinese landscapes,and really being involved in the three characters plights,amid tears and sniffles scattered throughout the theatre(i got choked up a bit too) I realized that sometimes less is more in filmmaking,and it can mean the difference between connecting with the story and characters,and just being along for the ride du jour. This film plays like a classical piece of music you never want to end.