BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS (BALZAC ET LA PETITE TAILLEUSE CHINOISE) Asian New Classics

Dai Sijie’s poignant, largely autobiographical coming-of-age tale reminds us that love can always blossom where you least expect.

BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS is a return to China’s Cultural Revolution, when playing Mozart could get you killed, and reading Balzac was as dangerous as buying a vial of heroin is today. Luo and Dai, sons of reactionary leaders, are brought to a rural mountain town to be indoctrinated with a love for all things Mao. But when a beautiful young girl enters their lives, Luo and Dai discover a different kind of love-one that unifies them as it tears them apart.

Ziiou Xun, star of BEIJING BICYCLE and SUZHOU RIVER, leads a superb cast in this remarkable evocation of a time and place that haunt Dai Sijie, and China, to this day.

Details

Country: China, France

Year: 2002

Director: Dai Sijie

Producers: Lise Fayolle, Philippe Rousselet, Wang Zhebin

Director of Photography: Jean-Marie Dreujou

Editors: Fleur Augustin, Nicolas Duchemin, Berengere Saint-Bezar, Zoe Forget, Alice Godeau

Cast/Featuring: Liu Ye (Ma), Wang Suang Bao (The Village Chief), Chen Kun (Luo), Xun Zhou (Little Chinese Seamstress), Chung Zhi Jun (The Old Tailor)

Running Time (minutes): 116 min

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