What is with those Chinese? I go out of my way to read Chinese history, old and contemporary, and to see their movies, but I am constantly left wondering, 'is it as bad as that?' The very idea of making a movie illegally in China gives me the willies, but Joan Chen did a remarkably beautiful job on her first film. It is shot well and the performances are full and nuanced. However, the male protagonist has been emasculated (an obvious metaphor for the Cultural Revolution), and while having some wonderful qualities, he is unable to overcome the outrages perpetrated in the story. This left me unsatisfied. Making room for the disparities between Eastern and Western culture, I accept Joan Chen and her fine movie as an important cultural view. Chen was born and raised in China, and she is angry. Was it as bad as all that? Apparently so.
Review of Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl
