Meili de dajiao (2002)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Yazhou Yang

Writer:

Wei Li (writer)

Plot:

In response to the death of her husband and young son, peasant Zhang Meili founds a school in the dry desert landscape of northwest China...

Awards:

5 wins

Cast

Ping Ni
Quan Yuan
Haiying Sun	...	Wang, Shu
Yajun Xu	...	Liu, Zhipeng
Zhijun Ge	...	Zhao, Mianfen
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jiahe Yang	...	Wang, Dahe

Also Known As:

For the Children (International: English title)
Pretty Big Feet (International: English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

USA:103 min

Country:

China

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Company:

CTV-Media Studio Corporation

Very touching. Worth seeing at least once.

I had an opportunity to see this wonderful film at the recently concluded Jamshedpur film festival and I consider myself really lucky for being able to do so. My review, I'm sure isn't quite upto the mark, simply because my knowledge in Chinese films doesn't really go beyond Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi. But this isn't a review. This is just an expression, a sort of a feedback to a commendable job that has gone into the making of this film.

The story is set in a very arid region in China where a young, single mother Zhang (Pi Ying) runs a school, the only school in that region. A beautiful city-bred young woman Zia (Yuan Quan) comes to join her as the new teacher. Life is difficult, and Zia finds it absolutely hard to adjust to conditions at her new work place. But a very strong bond develops between these two very different woman coming from totally disparate backgrounds.

I've just given a rough idea of what the film is all about. Although I want to type more I can't really do it for the fear of divulging some spoilers. Plus, maybe this film is too serious to be discussed in this flippant tone that I've deployed. However, this is one worth-talking-about film.

There are certain scenes in this movie that really stand out and are there inside the head even days after having seen this film. The relationship between the two women has been portrayed very beautifully. Zhang's outburst at a Beijing mall is quite powerful and touching. That one scene, perhaps, sums up the spirit of the entire picture--how far could a person could go for the sake of others? The opening sequence is equally engaging. The rugged Chinese landscape make for a very nice visual experience. The lead actors are awesome. Both Pi Ying and Yuan Quan look very good. However, I should make special mention of this child actor (his screen name is Da He). He'll leave you in splits and, in the climax, in tears.

I'd like to recommend this film to everyone, whether they're serious cinema afficionados or whatever. Movies like this shouldn't be missed for anything.