The Story of Qiu Ju [VHS]
by Yimou Zhang
![The Story of Qiu Ju [VHS]](/images/The-Story-of-Qiu-Ju-VHS-6303023037-L.jpg)
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VHS Tape Cover Information
Actor: Li Gong, Liuchun Yang, Peiqi Liu, Quesheng Lei, Zhijun GeDirector: Yimou Zhang
Edition: VHS Tape
Format: Color, NTSC
Running Time: 100 minutes
Release Date: 1995-01-17
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Studio: Sony Pictures
VHS Movie Reviews of The Story of Qiu Ju [VHS]
Movie Review: startling denouement highlights cultural divergency
Summary: 5 Stars
"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.
Summary of The Story of Qiu Ju [VHS]
In this remarkable film about a woman obsessed with exacting an apology from the chief of her small village, director Zhang Yimou (Red Sorghum, Raise the Red Lantern) tells a deceptively simple story with incredible art. When Wang Shantang (Lei Laosheng), the chief, kicks a chili farmer, Quinglai (Liu Peiqi), between the legs, all the farmer's wife, Qiu Ju (Gong Li), wants is an apology. The chief's reticence sends Qiu Ju on a misguided journey through the legal system in search of satisfaction. What she gets, however, is a harsh lesson in "be careful of what you ask for." In the end she finds that life can frustrate our attempts at harmony in the simplest, cruelest ways. Among the most notable aspects of this film are the marvelous performances by Gong Li and her supporting cast. As an example of artistic storytelling, this film is as close to flawless as one is likely to find. If you haven't yet discovered Zhang Yimou, you have a real treat in store. --James McGrathArt House & International VHS Video
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