"Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl", Joan Chen's directorial debut, tells the story of a midteen girl from a poor family in 1970's China who is taken from her family and sent to do menial labor in the tundra far from home ("sent down") as part of China's cultural revolution youth labor/education program. The result is a less than happy story which waxes to a startling climax in the last couple of minutes of the film. I became aware of this film upon its release to DVD, read glowing reviews and advertising which touted it as "banned in Bejing", and finally, after it inexplicably disappeared from the Netflix inventory, managed to scrounge a VHS copy from a local Hollywood Video store. Perhaps all the fuss raised my expectations as the film was not as good as the critics and hype led me to expect. In typically Chinese fashion the story is simple and minimalistic with only two characters dominating its austere landscape as it delivers its dark tale of a exploited girl and her older emasculated mentor. The production value was low end and the film appears to be a low budget project but, most of all, I was troubled by the denouement which seems contrived for shock value, incongruous with the story, and begs some serious questions about the behavior of the male lead. Recommended only for those into foreign films, particularly East Asian, or others with a specific interest in the place and time. For maximum enjoyment ignor the hype, keep expectations real, and don't be too analytical. (B-)
Review of Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl
