Xiao cai feng

Sijie Dai's wonderful novel, "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" was a joy to read. The author, who one thinks must live in France, made it possible for people that haven't read the book to see it as a motion picture that captures the spirit of the novel.

The action takes place in the China of the Red Brigades. As they swept the country, they wanted to rid of all foreign influence in their culture because it was perceived as a threat to the system. Among the people that fell prey to the hysteria of those days, two young city young men were apprehended and sent to a remote area by the magical Phoenix mountains to start work in one of the mines in the area as part of their reeducation, or brain washing process.

Young Luo and Ma, can't do without their beloved books and the violin that one of them played. Suddenly, these two young men are once again seen as a threat to their small community which is dominated by a man with a small mind who sees evil everywhere. The young men are appalled when they discover that most of the people around them are illiterate. Thus begins a series of readings from the classical books, mostly French, and the young men disguise as coming from another source.

When the tailor for the area arrives with his little assistant, both Luo and Ma can't help in falling in love for her. Only one of them will be successful in being loved back by the beautiful young woman.

The film is beautiful to watch. The impressive backdrop to the story serves as a distraction, at times, into this majestic area of China. The director has achieved a magic moment for the viewer by capturing beautiful images about a place at the end of the world.

this movie I watched only because I red the book first which is excellent. the movie is fairly loyal to the book. only 1 or 2 things are added, but other than that is is very accurate. the movie was created like it was taken right out of the book. the love story is charming and the characters are never annoying and never get tiresome. the atmosphere created in this movie is brilliant. a delight to watch. you could fall in love with The little seamstress just the way to protagonist and Luo do.the scenery is perfect, and makes you wish to be re-educated, although... not at all. just watch this movie. not a break through but certainly an enjoyable story.

This Sino-French film breaks no particular new ground, is not strong on action or drama, and is unlikely to move you either to great joy, or to tears. Despite this, there is something innately satisfying about watching it, which defies casual analysis.

The story centres on two young men, Ma and Luo. Coming from "reactionary bourgeois" families in the city, they are sent by the Chinese authorities for "re-education" to a beautiful yet achingly backward and isolated community in the mountains. There they undertake menial work, live in comparative squalor, but predictably find love in the form of the same woman – known throughout the film simply as "the little seamstress".

While "Balzac…" will win few originality awards, its strength lies in execution.

Sijie Dai manages to tell his story (which is semi-autobiographical) in a straightforward way. The local party chief is ignorant and officious without ever descending into malignancy. Ma and Luo are engaging without being overtly benevolent. The "peasants" are ignorant without being stupid. As love blossoms, the emotion of the film moves from repression to longing.

There are some wonderful, poignant moments in the film too, which underscore the mood. The local party chief exclaims early in the film "revolutionary peasants will never be corrupted by filthy bourgeois chicken"; Ma and Luo are sent to the cinema with instructions to tell the story to the village on their return; the little seamstress comments wistfully that she can "see planes flying overhead, and wonder to what far cities they are going" reminding us painfully that this is the 1960s not the 1860s.

Mostly, though, the audience is reminded of the futility of repression; the insatiable thirst for knowledge and new ideas, even among the villagers who are transfixed by the basic choices to be found in a city-boy's cookbook.

The cinematography is also wonderful. Apart from the flood sequence at the end, there is nothing flashy about it (and, given the scenery, it's possible that even I could do a fair job of making the film look pretty) but it is precisely the understated nature of the cinematography that I loved.

If the film has any particular weakness, its end (at least in terms of the Phoenix Mountain segment) is abrupt and seems not to follow logically from what has gone before. This is a small criticism though.

Many films today, even the good ones, seem to force their themes upon the audience by brute force, yet upon leaving the cinema, there seems little to talk about or ruminate over. "Balzac…", at least for me, was the opposite. Its light touch has worked its way into my unguarded consciousness. It is a welcome guest, and long may it stay.

I wanted to see a few films at the recent Asian Film Festival here in San Diego. So I chose three films that seemed to grab my interest. "Balzac and The Little Chinese Seamstress" was one of them. So after seeing an ok film from Taiwan the night before,I headed down to the cool art theatre this night to catch "The Little Chinese Seamstress." Wow! Packed house...wow! one empty seat next to me,and an attractive Asian girl by herself sits down..wow! I was lost in the film,as was the rest of the audience(including the cute girl) This film took a wide eyed,but intelligent swipe at the upside down vision of Mao's Cultural Revolution,and asked us"What if?" The simple,humorous story,and the lead characters drew that whole audience in,and reminded me of why I like the movies. I like a good heavy drama as much as anyone,but as I sat there in the dark packed house that night flying over the most beautiful lush Chinese landscapes,and really being involved in the three characters plights,amid tears and sniffles scattered throughout the theatre(i got choked up a bit too) I realized that sometimes less is more in filmmaking,and it can mean the difference between connecting with the story and characters,and just being along for the ride du jour. This film plays like a classical piece of music you never want to end.

This movie is most memorable for its beautiful scenery and while the story itself is told with skill and ambition it still lacks proper pace at times. Less would have been more here.

Also it seems that as the movie nears its end the writers had a hard time thinking of a artistically pleasing ending and by doing so overdid it just a bit. The underwater scene at the end, while having a melancholic touch, did come across as rather forced for an otherwise "natural" film.

The characters are all believable, amicable, intriguing and make you all the more interested in the story, which takes place during the Chinese cultural revolution. Do not expect historic facts since this is no documentary but a tale of love found and lost. A wonderfully poetic one, too.

A highlight of independent film making. 7/10