The Story of Qiu Ju
by Yimou Zhang
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Li Gong, Liuchun Yang, Peiqi Liu, Quesheng Lei, Zhijun GeDirector: Yimou Zhang
Brand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: Cantonese (Original Language); English (Subtitled); Chinese (Dubbed)
Format: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-03-28
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Reviews of The Story of Qiu Ju
Movie Review: A Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
The story is well told in many of the other reviews--Qiu Ju's husband has taunted the village chief who retaliated and kicked her husband in the groin and ribs. She is a peasant who undertakes a quest through the Chinese system of officials and courts, from village to city, seeking to compel the village chief to apologize. He turns out not to be a bad man, and most of the people--including the officials--are good people throughout the movie. There are many realistic pictures of people and village and city life in northwest China, and the story is compelling and interesting. What would be justice for this case? How does "losing face" affect these people? Is she right to do what she is doing? Unlike other reviewers, I was actually impressed with the quality of the justice system as portrayed, and her rights and ability to pursue one appeal after another, coupled with the practical nature of the remedies ordered by the officials and judges. There are some real twists at the end, as the viewer bounces from one surprise to another. The ending will make you think about Qiu Ju and this movie for a long time--it was already a great movie before the ending. Gong Li is a great actress, and Yimou Zhong is a great director. I now plan to see all their movies. This one also has humour--you will really be amused by the scene following where the peasants are told to dress like city people so as to avoid being the targets of criminals. This movie was the only movie added to our list of books to read before a Princeton University trip to China this summer. I am so glad.
Summary of The Story of Qiu Ju
A humorous fable of justice that traverses shot in the north of China. Gong Li plays Qiu Ju a tenacious farmer determined to right a wrong done to her husband. Defying all stereotypes of the passive Chinese woman she remains unbowed by the frustrations of bureaucracy in her quixotic search for dignity.System Requirements:Run Time: 100 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:?FOREIGN/LATIN Rating:?PG UPC:?043396141124 Manufacturer No:?14112The kick is never shown, but the entire film is based around it. It's winter in the remote Shaanxi province. Pregnant Qiu Ju (Gong Li, 2046) is married to laidback farmer Qinglai (Liu Pei Qi). When village chief Wang (Lei Lao Sheng) kicks him during an argument, she sets out to ensure that her husband receives medical attention--and justice. Clad in a bulky jacket, face partially obscured by a thick scarf, the strong-willed woman, joined by sister-in-law Meizi (Yang Liu Chun), travels far and wide to find someone who can coerce Wang to apologize (she asked, he refused). All agree the chief was in the wrong, but each authority with whom she meets hands her off to another. Along the way, the couple is offered financial compensation (for medical care and lost wages), but an apology is as elusive as a dragonfly in December. Taking cues from both Frank Capra (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) and Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves), Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers) presents modern-day China as a country where bureaucrats run the show and the citizens--especially the women--must suffer the consequences. Fortunately, some are more persistent than others, and The Story of Qiu Ju is far from tragic. Just as their fifth pairing represents one of Yimou's rare contemporary efforts, the dressed-down title character is also an anomaly for Li, his real-life love at the time. The risk paid off and the result is one of their most cherished collaborations. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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