Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl

Last updated • 5 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl
Xiu Xiu.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Chinese
Literal meaningCelestial Bath
Hanyu Pinyin Tiān Yù
Directed by Joan Chen
Screenplay by
Based on"Celestial Bath"
by Geling Yan
Produced by
  • Alice Chen
  • Joan Chen
Starring
Cinematography Lü Yue
Edited by Ruby Yang
Music byJohnny Chen
Production
companies
Release date
Running time
99 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin
Box office$1 million [1]

Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (Chinese :天浴) is a 1998 Chinese drama film directed by Joan Chen in her directorial debut, who co-wrote the screenplay with Geling Yan. Based on Yan's 1981 short story "Celestial Bath", the film is set in the 1970s during the Cultural Revolution's Down to the Countryside Movement in People's Republic of China. [2] The film stars Li Xiaolu as the titular character, with Lopsang also starring. The film premiered at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival and collected top prizes from various film festivals. It was released in the United States on May 7, 1999.

Contents

Plot

Wenxiu, nicknamed Xiu Xiu, a 15-year-old girl living in the city of Chengdu, is sent out to study horses in the countryside with a nomadic Tibetan. She is told that after six months, she will return to take charge of her all-girl cavalry unit. Her only friend is the eunuch horseman Lao Jin, who takes care of her while teaching her to herd horses. But after the six months are up, she quickly discovers that she is not allowed to return.

As Xiu Xiu loses hope, she falls for the lies of a peddler who tells her he can get her out of the place, but does not return after having sex with her. Her innocence is slowly corrupted by a stream of men who use her only for sex, barely keeping up the conceit by telling her that they are able to get her back to her hometown. She starts to believe the lies the men perfunctorily tell her, as she spitefully lectures Lao Jin that the men who come in the night and have their way with her are important men who can help her get back.

Xiu Xiu gets pregnant and goes for a traumatic abortion in the hospital. The female doctors gossip about her. After the operation, she is raped by one of the patients, a man who shot himself in the foot to get disability benefits in the state-controlled economy. Lao Jin gets angry and assaults the rapist, but is restrained by the other patients while the doctors make snide remarks about how Xiu Xiu enjoys being raped.

After Xiu recuperates, she tries to shoot herself in the foot so she can get sent back home, but cannot bring herself to pull the trigger. She asks Lao Jin to shoot her foot, then changes her mind and asks him to shoot her dead instead. He does so, then shoots himself and falls on her body.

Cast

Production

The film was shot on location in Tibet [3] over a period of six weeks with a crew of 60. [4] Joan Chen said she would smuggle film out of China almost every day of the shoot for fear that Chinese authorities might confiscate all of it if they discovered what kind of film she was making. [4] This prevented her from watching playbacks and led to a rushed shooting schedule. [4]

Reception

Critical reception

On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl has an approval rating of 96% based on 24 reviews. The site's critics consensus reads, "A superb first outing from debuting director Joan Chen, Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl uses one person's grueling ordeal to probe a dark chapter in Chinese history." [5] Andrew Sarris of The New York Observer called the film "the most devastatingly implacable indictment of Mao's Great Cultural Revolution as is possible to imagine." [6] Desson Howe of The Washington Post said the film's subject matter made for a difficult watch, but also commented the film is "nicely photographed, well directed and has two delicate lead performances from Lu Lu and Lopsang." [7] Film critic Roger Ebert praised the film's understated dialogue, particularly highlighting the relationship between Lao Jin and Xiu Xiu as one of shared isolation and quiet suffering, likening them to "two fellow prisoners who scarcely speak the same language." [8]

Release

The film premiered at the 1998 Berlin International Film Festival on February 19, 1998. In December 1998, the film won several awards at the Golden Horse Film Festival in Taiwan, prompting Taiwanese media to report that Chen had circumvented regulations by China's Film Bureau in order to shoot in Tibet. [4] Chen was subsequently fined and briefly banned in China. [9] [4] Chen apologized to the Bureau and said she had initially applied for a film permit, but was given a mandate by officials to remove "sexual and pessimistic scenes from the film" in order to obtain the permit. [4]

When the film was released in the United States in May 1999, the film's marketing focused on Xiu Xiu's sexual and political content as the primary reason for its ban in China. [10] [11] [6]

Awards and nominations

Golden Horse Awards [4]
48th Berlin International Film Festival [12]
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival [13]
Paris Film Festival [7]
Mons International Festival of Love Films [14]
National Board of Review [15]
Independent Spirit Awards [16]

American experimental band Xiu Xiu is named after the film, and frontman Jamie Stewart has stated that Xiu Xiu's sound is influenced by the film. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gong Li</span> Chinese-Singaporean actress (born 1965)

Gong Li is a Chinese-Singaporean actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses in China today, she is known for her versatility and naturalistic performance. She starred in three of the four Chinese-language films that have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Chen</span> Chinese-American actress and director

Joan Chen is a Chinese-American actress and film director. In China, she starred in the 1979 film Little Flower and came to the attention of American audiences for her performance in the 1987 film The Last Emperor, which won nine Academy Awards including Best Picture. She is also known for her roles in Twin Peaks, Red Rose White Rose, Saving Face and The Home Song Stories, and for directing the feature film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards</span> Taiwanese film festival and awards ceremony

The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Taipei Golden Horse Awards are a film festival and associated awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. The festival and ceremony were founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan and is now run as an independent organisation. The awards ceremony is usually held in November or December in Taipei, although the event has also been held in other locations in Taiwan in recent times.

<i>The Emperor and the Assassin</i> 1998 Chinese film

The Emperor and the Assassin, also known as The First Emperor, is a 1998–1999 Chinese historical romance film based primarily on Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin, as described in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian. The film was directed by Chen Kaige and stars Gong Li, Zhang Fengyi, Li Xuejian, and Zhou Xun. The film was well received critically and won the Technical Prize at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. It was the most expensive Chinese film made up to that time, costing US$20 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beijing Film Academy</span> Municipal public college in Beijing, China

Beijing Film Academy is a municipal public college in Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the City of Beijing, and co-funded by the Beijing Municipal People's Government, the National Radio and Television Administration, and the Ministry of Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Li Xiaolu</span> Chinese actress and singer

Li Xiaolu, also known as Jacqueline Li, is a Chinese actress and singer. She is best known for her role in Joan Chen's directing debut Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (1998), idol drama All the Misfortunes Caused by the Angel (2001) and the popular youth series Struggle (2007). At age 16, she was the youngest actress to win the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress.

<i>Jasmine Women</i> 2004 film directed by Hou Yong

Jasmine Women is a 2004 Chinese film directed and co-written by Hou Yong in his directorial debut. The film is an adaptation of Su Tong's novel Women's Life (妇女生活) and depicts the emotionally troubled lives of 4 generations of Shanghainese women from the 1930s to the 1980s. Jasmine Women stars Zhang Ziyi and Joan Chen, who both portrayed multiple characters, as well as Jiang Wen, Lu Yi, and Liu Ye.

<i>Hanazakarino Kimitachihe</i> Television program

Hanazakarino Kimitachihe, is a 2006 Taiwanese drama starring Ella Chen of S.H.E, Wu Chun and Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit, and Danson Tang. It was based on Japanese shōjo manga series Hana-Kimi by Hisaya Nakajo.

Lü Yue is a Chinese cinematographer and film director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chen Shiang-chyi</span> Taiwanese actress

Chen Shiang-chyi is a Taiwanese actress. She has appeared in most of Tsai Ming-liang's feature films.

Siqin Gaowa, born Duan Anlin, is a Chinese-born Swiss actress. She was born in Guangzhou to a Han Chinese father and a Mongol Chinese mother. Her father died when she was 4, she was raised by her mother in Inner Mongolia. She has been married to musician Chen Liangsheng (陈亮声) since 1986 and currently holds Swiss citizenship together with her husband.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geling Yan</span> Chinese-American author and screenwriter (born 1958)

Geling Yan is a Chinese-American author and screenwriter.

<i>Three Kingdoms</i> (TV series) 2010 Chinese historical series

Three Kingdoms is a 2010 Chinese television series based on the events in the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. The plot is adapted from the 14th century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms and other stories about the Three Kingdoms period. Directed by Gao Xixi, the series had a budget of over 160 million RMB and took five years of pre-production work. Shooting of the series commenced in October 2008, and it was released in China in May 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yan Shunkai</span> Chinese comedian, actor and film director

Yan Shunkai was a Chinese comedian, actor and film director.

<i>Knitting</i> (film) 2008 Chinese film

Knitting is a 2008 Chinese film directed by Yin Lichuan. Yin's second film as director, Knitting is a romantic drama. The film was adapted by Yin from the short story "The Story of Li Ai and Haihai" by author Amei.

<i>Beauty World</i> (TV series) 2011 Chinese TV series or program

Beauty World, also known as Tang Gong Meiren Tianxia and World of a Beauty, is a Chinese fantasy-supernatural television series set in the Tang dynasty. It was directed by Lee Wai-chu, produced and written by Yu Zheng, and starred Zhang Ting, Ming Dow, Li Xiaolu, Mickey He, Zheng Guolin, Yang Mi and Tong Liya in the leading roles. The series is regarded as a counterpart to Beauty's Rival in Palace, a similar 2010 television series set in the Han Dynasty. It was first aired on 21 October 2011 on Guangzhou Zonghe Channel in mainland China.

<i>Nezha</i> (2014 film) 2014 Chinese film

Nezha, stylized on some posters as 'NeZha' or 'Ne Zha', is a 2014 Chinese period drama film directed by Li Xiaofeng, in his directorial debut.

<i>Surgeons</i> (TV series) 2017 Chinese TV series or program

Surgeons is a 2017 Chinese television series produced by Hou Hongliang, directed by Li Xue and written by Zhu Zhu; starring Jin Dong and Bai Baihe. The series aired from 17 April to 10 May 2017 on Beijing TV and Zhejiang TV.

She, a Chinese is a 2009 international co-production drama film directed by Xiaolu Guo. Inspired by Jean-Luc Godard's La Chinoise, it portraits a fragmented journey of a young Chinese woman through the world. It won the 2009 Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival.

<i>Love You Seven Times</i> 2023 Chinese television series

Love You Seven Times is a Chinese television series based on the novel Seven Unfortunate Lifetimes, All Thanks to a Single Moment of Impulse by Jiulu Feixiang, starring Ding Yuxi and Yang Chaoyue. The series aired on iQIYI on August 10, 2023.

References

  1. "Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo (IMDb). Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  2. "Wettbewerb/In Competition". Moving Pictures, Berlinale Extra. Berlin: 37. 11–22 February 1998.
  3. "The Arch with Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl". Academy Museum of Motion Pictures . Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Faison, Seth (April 29, 1999). "China Bans A Filmmaker For Eluding Censorship". The New York Times . Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  5. "Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  6. 1 2 Sarris, Andrew (May 21, 1999). "Banned in China, Joan Chen's Xiu Xiu Horrifies". New York Observer . Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Howe, Desson (June 4, 1999). "Pretty Picture of an Ugly Life". The Washington Post . Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  8. Ebert, Roger (July 30, 1999). "Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl movie review (1999)". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved 2024-12-11.
  9. Johnson, G. Allen (April 5, 2017). "Joan Chen's 'Xiu Xiu' highlights film festival retrospectives". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  10. Luers, Erik (November 25, 2022). ""You Don't Find Yaks in America": Joan Chen on Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl". Filmmaker. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  11. Green, Jonathon; Karolides, Nicholas J. (2005). Encyclopedia of Censorship. New York: Facts On File. p. 105. ISBN   9780816044641. OCLC   241302158 via The Internet Archive.
  12. "Berlinale: 1998 Programme". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on May 8, 2005. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  13. "Ft Lauderdale's Moving on Up". IndieWire . November 19, 1998. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  14. "Hong Kong Cinemagic - Xiu Xiu : The Sent-Down Girl". www.hkcinemagic.com. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  15. "1999 Archives". National Board of Review. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  16. ""Election," "Limey" Up for Indie Oscars"". E! Online . January 13, 2000. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  17. "Xiu Xiu on the power of empathy and religion". Bandwagon. July 6, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2022.