The Story Of Qiu Ju

... great immortal cinema. One of Yimou (first name) Zhang's (family name) best movies about people in conflict in a universal life situation, dealing with simple and fundamental questions of humanity, justice and judicature. With a great, touching end: Qiu Ju shocked by the fruits of her persistent struggle for her (and her husband's) Rights. Showing how the fight for Rights, once so brave, may turn out dissatisfying and ugly after a while, when the reasons for fighting have disappeared, A stone thrown back may take a long way and hit the counterpart after peace was concluded.By the way Zhangs movie provides interesting insight into Chinese rural live as it was in 1990.I realy love it.

The Story of Qiu Ju is a modern classic, overlooked by manstream film lovers, because it's in Mandarin. The story is that of a woman, from a village in China, who seeks justice from the village chief, who beat up her husband and kicked him in the balls. She takes her complaint all the way to Beijing. As in so many Zang Yimou/Li Gong films there's a moral: be careful what you wish for.

I had to watch this minus the sound track! I therefore found it lacked a requisite dimension although the subtitles were intact. In a way quite depressing although a subsequent perusal with the proper ambient noises lifted it considerably and suggested a much lighter story - in spite of the unexpected ending.

I saw this lovely film at the Lumier in St Martin's lane many years ago (cinema not longer there). A few years after I bought on Video tape, a year later lent my boss, who never gave it back. I have always been meaning to buy a copy on DVD anyway

One of my favourite films and a window into revolutionary China from a Chinese persepctive - with a fair bit of humour too.

There is a reason that Gong Li, and director Zhang, are paired so often in Chinese films, and it is because they are both at the top of their game at this time, unassailable in both their fields.This film, made in 1992, gives us an insight into how modern China still exists in what are two worlds. The peasants in the countryside live an almost medieval existence, and see the city as a mystical, far-off place, to which they should never go. This simple story is so basic, as to almost raise the question `why film it?' A man is beaten by a petty official, acting as the village chief in a country district. The attacker refuses to apologise, meaning that the family suffer indignity, and lose face, still a matter of great importance to the people. When she receives no satisfaction, the man's wife begins her tortuous journey through the many levels of Chinese bureaucracy, getting ever nearer to the distant city, as she does so.On the way, we are treated to a view of life in China unknown to us in the West, and some marvellous photography, together with entertaining set pieces too. The ending is not what you might imagine either, and the whole film is a delight from start to finish.

Interesting peek into provincial China in the 1980s, and the contrast between hard, backward rural life and rapidly modernizing cities. The director uses "verité" camera to show us real street life, which makes the film part documentary.It also shows a very sympathetic bureaucracy, ready to listen to the grievances of a country girl, which may not always be the case in real China. Maybe the director was trying to be ironic about this or perhaps the movie is meant as an encouragement for real civil servants and law and order officials to do their job.It is also a story of human relationships: one moral of the story is that even when something wrong is done to you, you need to keep calm and find a way out that is reasonable. For us non-Chinese the film illustrates very well the value of not "losing face" in China. All is well that ends well? Not really, but I won't give the ending away...

Wow! What an exceptional performance by Gong Li. and Director Yimou Zhang. A Classic forever.

Like THE ROAD HOME and HOUSE OF THE FLYING DAGGERS after it, THE STORY OF QIU JU gets the audience lost in the story at the first moment. (The moment in this case being the title character's concern for her husband and the reason why she's so determined.) You also get a look at everyday China at the time, the working class view.The village chief's arrogant behavior reminds us of what middle and working class residents have to put up with from landlords and other authority figures. Same with the justice system and how it frequently fails at its primary duty to the people.Anyway, throughout the film Qiu Ju seeks out an apology from the Chief, and reacts the way any of us would when she doesn't get it: seek justice via the authorities. Even pregnancy, shortage of chili supply, and having to go through layers of the system don't make her quit. Then during her climactic labor (birth-giving), the chief shows his good side by helping her through it. She, of course, is grateful. And she (and we the audience) has forgotten about the assault charges until word of the chief's arrest comes up. The closing shots say that sometimes when you get what want, it is not what it's cracked up to be. Sometimes when you win, you actually lose.The work of cast and crew is priceless. Everyone did their part the way it should. Gong Li's performance just happens to stand out, as she carries the film as the title figure. Again, THE STORY OF QIU JU looks at daily life and trials in the eyes of middle and working class people, in and out of China--and in an honest, non-fabricated manner. Plus, there is good and bad in everyone (as shown by the village chief); it's not like "good in one, bad in another".THE STORY OF QIU JU. See it again and again, and it'll never get old, cliche, or any less relevant. Not ever.

Zhang Yimou masterfully reveals the essence of the dynamics at work in Chinese society and the impact of traditional culture and modern day politics on the lives of individual citizens and families in China. Whether you support the quixotic quest of Qiu Ju and her sidekick Meizi (translation: younger sister) or not you will fall in love with the sincerity, purity and simplicity of their hearts. These qualities (among others) that endear so many of the real people whom we ("foreigners"/non-Chinese) meet, while living in the People's Republic of China, to us are represented with amazing clarity and realism. The story and plotline are very (almost too) simple; but the character development, and presentation of village, city, and district politics in China and the vast differences between people's lives in those settings is so interesting and intriguing that the movie will keep you amused, interested, and excited, and have you wishing to see more as the credits start rolling at the end of the movie. This was one of the few movies that actually had me feeling as though I was back in China among so many wonderful friends, sights, and smells, and re-experiencing the oddly comfortable sense of chronic culture shock. I would recommend this movie to anyone who truly wants to better understand our brothers' and sisters' situations in China and to have your heart and mind opened and broadened. The movie is spoken in the Shaanxi dialect of Chinese (although I could understand much of it with my limited fluency in Mandarin) and subtitled in English. Even though it is really a drama many of the comical and sweet interpersonal situations in this movie will have you laughing out loud as you learn to see into the hearts of the characters and look upon the vast cultural differences with more respect, compassion, and understanding. I am happy to own this movie and plan to share it with others who are open-minded enough to consider and appreciate what this fine work of art represents.

"The Story of Qiu Ju" features a very recognizable cultural stock figure. Gong Li plays the wife of a man who has been injured by a local official. While they are offered a small settlement, Qiu Ju refuses to accept it and so, basically, takes on the system. This is Silkwood or Phillip Seymour Hoffman taking on the tobacco industry or Mr. Smith in Washington or on and on and on. We all know this character, the plucky underdog who refuses to give up and who, through grit and determination and with an unshakeable conviction in the rightness of their cause fight overwhelming odds, never giving up until finally, at the very end, truth and justice triumph. The faceless bureaucrats lose and our hero carries the day. But this movie was made in China. They also know this character but they view this person in a completely different light. In Chinese society this person is "The Troublemaker." They don't know when to stop. They don't recognize the good that people are trying to do them. They don't appreciate the positions of others. In "The Story of Qiu Ju," the progressively more important officials that take time out of their busy schedules to hear out Qiu Ju are portrayed sympathetically. They listen. They want to help. They extend themselves (one of the highest actually squires Qiu Ju around in his limo, helping her find her way in an unfamiliar city.) In the end, and I don't want to give away too much, Qiu Ju herself is made to confront the fundamental error of her ways and she profoundly regrets the trouble she has caused. I watched this movie with my wife, who is Chinese and at a certain point we both knew how the movie was going to end: I was shocked and she was bored. Enjoy it.

The story is well told in many of the other reviews--Qiu Ju's husband has taunted the village chief who retaliated and kicked her husband in the groin and ribs. She is a peasant who undertakes a quest through the Chinese system of officials and courts, from village to city, seeking to compel the village chief to apologize. He turns out not to be a bad man, and most of the people--including the officials--are good people throughout the movie. There are many realistic pictures of people and village and city life in northwest China, and the story is compelling and interesting. What would be justice for this case? How does "losing face" affect these people? Is she right to do what she is doing? Unlike other reviewers, I was actually impressed with the quality of the justice system as portrayed, and her rights and ability to pursue one appeal after another, coupled with the practical nature of the remedies ordered by the officials and judges. There are some real twists at the end, as the viewer bounces from one surprise to another. The ending will make you think about Qiu Ju and this movie for a long time--it was already a great movie before the ending. Gong Li is a great actress, and Yimou Zhong is a great director. I now plan to see all their movies. This one also has humour--you will really be amused by the scene following where the peasants are told to dress like city people so as to avoid being the targets of criminals. This movie was the only movie added to our list of books to read before a Princeton University trip to China this summer. I am so glad.