Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl: 20th Anniversary Screening
Description
An astonishingly confident directorial debut from San Francisco-based actress Joan Chen, Xiu Xiu is a heartbreaking coming-of-age melodrama set during the later stages of the Cultural Revolution. A young girl, Xiu Xiu, is sent to a desolate part of Tibet to learn horse breeding from her trainer, Lao Jin, a serene Tibetan herdsman. Deserted in such a bleak, uncompromising landscape, Xiu Xiu dreams of a better life, but slowly realizes that the authorities have no intention of ever rescuing her. Her dreams shattered, she is coerced into sex by visiting townsmen and their promises of “help.” But no help ever comes, and the silent, love-struck Lao Jin is left as her only hope. Chen’s slow-building moods and self-assured narrative tone recall the emotional power and underlying social critique inherent in mainland China’s Fifth Generation filmmakers as well as the work of their predecessor Xie Jin (whose 1977 film, Youth, saw Chen in one of her first starring roles). Austere, uncluttered—no unnecessary dramatic pyrotechnics or visual exotica—Xiu Xiu achieves a purity of vision not found in most contemporary cinema. Coaxing gorgeously refined performances out of radiant newcomer Lu Lu and the Tibetan-born Lopsang, Chen weaves a story of love unspoken and love lost, and in so doing introduces an exciting new voice to world cinema. —Jason Sanders, Festival 1998
After establishing herself as actress in both her native China and the United States in such projects as Little Flower (1979), The Last Emperor (1987), Twin Peaks (1989-1991), and Heaven & Earth (1994), Joan Chen turned to writing and directing. Her debut feature Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998) garnered seven Golden Horse Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Feature Film. Chen also directed Autumn in New York (2000) and wrote and directed Shanghai Strangers (2012), a dramatic short.
Film Details
Language Mandarin
Year 1998
Runtime 99
Country USA/Hong Kong/Taiwan
Director Joan Chen
Producer Alice Chan, Joan Chen
Writer Yan Geling, Joan Chen
Editor Ruby Yang
Cinematographer Lu Yue
Music Johnny Chen
Cast LuLu, Lopsang