Wwmbrd Set during the Cultural Revolution in Maoist China (late 1960s-early 70s), Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress follows a pair of young men, Luo and Ma, who have been sent from their homes in the city to the rural mountains in central China for the process of "re- education"- a Maoist program known as the "Down to the Countryside" movement. In short, the idea behind this was for the richer urban youth to "see how the other half lives", which instead served as a sort of exile of youth and their potentially revolutionary ideas: send them away, and they won't be a problem anymore. In what would later be recognized as one of the most culturally destructive events in Chinese history, ironically cast as being to remove "revisionists" (those who supported capitalistic ideas and western culture), the years of Mao's Cultural Revolution set the Chinese economy, social structure, education, and politics back irreparably.The story revolves around these two teens and their interactions with the local peasant villagers- but particularly the beautiful granddaughter of the village's tailor. Illiterate, but with an open mind and desire to learn, the Little Seamstress beseeches Luo and Ma to teach her how to read and write, and they see her as a chance to use their "revolutionary ideas" and "corrupt" (redeem) even just one soul from the poisonous teachings of Mao. Of course, at this time, any kind of print material, television, film, or anything of cultural relevance that was deemed "revisionist" or "revolutionary" was strictly prohibited, and subject to confiscation and destruction- not to mention punishable by prison or worse for the offender found in possession of such contraband. Toeing the line, Luo and Ma seek out western books written purely for the pleasure of reading, such as Balzac's Ursule Mirouet and Alexander Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo, with which to teach the Little Seamstress to read, and at the same time to think for herself- a true re-education.Luo and Ma grapple with their circumstances- being pushed into backbreaking labor mining and farming with the penniless villagers and their ignorance of the ways of modern medicine and thought. It's almost as if the people there were frightened to think- afraid of outside knowledge that might threaten their simple, but difficult existence on the mountain, and readily accepted the Maoist ideas that Luo and Ma were seeing right through. The culture of fear instilled in them by the government pervaded their thoughts to the point of near paranoia- the scene where the village chief nearly dies in a cave in attempting to save a portrait of Chairman Mao is the pinnacle of this irrational, fierce obsession. Another scene that really highlit a sense of desperation and tragedy in the movie was how the contraband western authors' books were used as a form of currency, in a sense. Something as simple as literature and knowledge were so dear to Luo and Ma, as an escape from their rough living conditions. Yet another scene that really spoke to me was when Ma contracted (what they thought was) malaria. Being that Luo and Ma were children of a dentist and doctor, respectively, they understood that with medicine and actual treatment that malaria was very curable- but Ma was subjected to all manner of primitive, ignorant, tribalistic medicine- like whipping and being thrown into the lake, and accepted it because he knew there was no way he'd be allowed to leave to seek proper treatment in a city.

johnnyboyz At the core of 2003's Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, a film directed by a man adapting his own novel, is a bond shared between two men at a time of oppression and punishment - something which is threatened into disintegration on account of a young woman seemingly coming between them. Much later on, when one half of this masculine double-act embraces the titular Chinese seamstress, his long-time friend peers through slats in a nearby shack at their lonely coming together up on a rock beside a stretch of water - itself a highly romanticised image within a film about nastiness at a time of political and cultural strife. As he looks on, there is a looming sense of whatever little fondness the film infers he has for her is clashing with the fact she is coming between him and his friend; in spite of the fact the film is somewhat of a love story, this sense of men and males bonding in harsh circumstances takes centre stage - Dai Sijie's film deceptively about the fondness two people share for a member of the opposite sex and more-so about the understanding two of the same gender have with one another; those around them and their predicament.If one were to say that the sorts of films Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress feigns to be more often than not end with a heterosexual embrace, the final few scenes of this film display a muted mutual understanding of what two people of the same gender went through: thinking along the lines of 'we experienced all of that, lost it, but still have each other'. The characters we observe during the opening shots move in a very robotic manner; they lumber up steep hills to the backdrop of mountains but both the reasons they're there and the tasks they must carry out whilst there do not match up with the picturesque view on display. Where they are is a punishment camp in the nether-regions of early 1970s China, a nation undergoing change what with its cultural and political crises then-presently unfolding closer to the top - a nation deeming it worthy to send a man to one of these rural correctional facilities if it means they were a dentist who corrected a bad tooth for someone in support of the present government's opposition. Such a man is Luo (Chen), a young adult suffering through the same hardships with a good friend named Ma (Liu), of whom is a bit of a musician.From robotic foundations comes the film about characters exploring books and music and other texts at the higher end of culture; items which touch the characters so much that they decide to print verses from their favourite banned material on their shirts so they may feel how they feel. Such a thing strikes us as being akin to people in our contemporary Western world walking around with song lyrics or images from their favourite movies on their T-shirts; we take it as a given, these people must hide their enthusiasm. The film is a piece about two, gently mutating into three, fellows broadening both their creativity and thinking whilst at the same time their feelings for one another. It begins with a finding of a small shed housing banned material, instruments and books by the eponymous Balzac among others. Ceturies old classical works by famous Austrain composers are allowed to be played by the likes of Ma, but only if it means successfully fobbing off the superior officer on guard with promises that it is in actual fact a recent tune promoting the regime.It carries on with the arrival of Xun Zhou's character, an attractive young woman arriving at the camp to hear Ma play and coming to stick around a while longer when she discovers their illegal lust for such things matches that of hers. It progresses further still when Luo and the seamstress get closer than they perhaps should; their occupying of a police-governed and totalitarian state run nation, in which power-play and control plays a large role in factoring how people live; exist and behave, leads to a deep fondness when the seamstress is charged with flogging his back to cure his malaria – this symbolic occurrence of power exchange ultimately leading them to an embrace and affecting their own existence and behaviour. On the one hand, the film is a deftly played love story following three people deeply involved in what they've got themselves into, but it is an affecting dialogue driven drama that slides into believable tragedy as the circumstances they find themselves in, due to certain complications, befall the threesome. Its sense of advancing its characters, in having Ma and Luo enjoy sneaking up on the female population of the camp during the opening exchanges as they bathe nude in a natural spring, is prominent as they come to indulge the seamstress' presence and begin to understand women much more in that regard. The fondness characters develop for one another is believable, while Sijie, what with all the expectancy lumped onto him given it is his novel; his screenplay; his adaptation and his whole project, brings to life this vision's story with punch – the thing totalling up into a worthwhile experience.

jkujo An invaluably sad but exceptionally beautiful work of art realistically depicting instability and mutability of all things in modern life. It's inevitably fluid like nature of human evolution between one époque to another. I can feel ethereal touch of Author's filial love to his mother country china. It is easy to see that the Author was torn between his deep seated love for China and Ambition of prosperity on his chosen land (France) at the moment of his life time decision making. This is something that not many understand unless you are forced to leave from your homeland and love ones for a cause. I have left Japan , Kyoto and a noble born beloved fiancé along with almost all things I perceived exquisite at that time for an ambitious cause.Augmented by an outstanding soundtracks with his genius touch in a perfect synchronization with emotion portrayed in screenplay. Since I have played harpsichord continuo part for Haendel's tragic opera such as Alcina, Otone and Radamisto for student soprano singers during rehearsals in the past, I can readily feel Author's masterful quality of refined artistic mind in every scene.This is a second film that I bought for my collection of Dai Sijie's works. I must admit that he is a genius of screenplay when it comes to depicting moments of painful separation. Who else can reproduce so vividly on the screen with such poetic touch today? Julien Kujo, Palo Alto, California

lastliberal What are you supposed to do when you film goes up against others in the Golden Globes like eventual Oscar winner Talk to Her, or The Crime of Father Amaro, or Hero? You just look at the company and console yourself with the awards you have already won.This was a beautiful film with Xun Zhou (The Emperor and the Assassin) in the title role as an uneducated villager who is exposed to banned books by two university students, Kun Chen and Ye Liu (The Promise, The Curse of the Golden Flower), who were sent to her mountain for reeducation.Besides another critical look at the reeducation program under Mao, it also provides a look at how all yearn for freedom, much like watching the second hour of the new John Adams mini-series did.One thing that was very interesting in the film was the way it demonstrated the flooding of the Yangtze to create the 650 square mile lake in China. Until this film, I had no good idea of just how great a project that was. When you see these villagers trek up many many steps to get to their homes high in the mountains, and then see those same home flooded, you begin to comprehend just how big a project that was.This was a beautiful symphony with Mozart and Balzac transforming the people.