Xiao cai feng (2002)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Sijie Dai

Writers:

Sijie Dai (novel)
Sijie Dai (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 October 2002 (France)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Two youths sent for a Maoist "re-education" in the mountains fall in love with the village tailor's granddaughter.

Plot Keywords:

Mountain | Book | Tailor | Literature | Village

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 5 nominations

Cast

Xun Zhou	...	Little Chinese Seamstress
Kun Chen	...	Luo
Ye Liu	...	Ma
Shuangbao Wang	...	Head of the Village
Zhijun Cong	...	Old Tailor
Hongwei Wang	...	Four Eyes
Xiong Xiao	...	Mother of Four Eyes
Zuohui Tang	...	Old Mill Worker
Wei Chen	...	Wife of the Head of the Village
Tianlu Chen	...	Director of the Commune
Qing-yun Fan	...	Doctor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Guy-Pierre Bennet	...	Journalist (voice)
Quilène Boileux	...	Airport Shop Assistant
Yulin Chen	...	Female Villager
Jing Fang	...	Female Villager
Yao Liu	...	Female Villager
Lina Mei	...	Female Villager
Jie Min	...	Peasant
Li Peng	...	Female Villager
Wa Su	...	Daughter in Law of the Head of the Village
Chun Hua Xu	...	Female Villager
Yukun Xu	...	Peasant
Dandan Yang	...	Mrs. Lao
He Zhang	...	Peasant
Fang Zong Zhao	...	Female Villager
Heng Fei Zhao	...	Female Villager

Also Known As:

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (UK) (USA)
Balzac et la petite tailleuse chinoise (France)
The Little Chinese Seamstress (International: English title)

Runtime:

110 min | France:116 min (Cannes Film Festival)

Country:

France | China

Language:

Mandarin | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Norway:11 | Philippines:PG-13 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Fenghuan, Hunan, China

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

Filming was allowed in China after seven months negotiations with the authorities, but any projection on Chinese territory was banned.

Soundtrack:

Concerto pour violon N° 3

A reminder of why I like escapism

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.