A Beautiful Entry into Foreign Film Libraries
By Collectonian Jan 6, 2006
Pros: Great acting, beautiful scenery, powerful visual effects and well done subtitling.
Cons: The ending just makes you want to scream
Originally titled Tian yu (why?), Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl is a Mandarin tale from either Hong Kong or Japan (not sure which). It was banned in China because of its political and sexual content. Oh, and I should note now, that I saw this on video,... rented from Visart, not on DVD. Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl tells the story of one girl, Wen Xiu, who becomes one of the many youngsters in China who is sent to "trade" camps, where they learn manual labor skills to enable them to be more productive members of society. When they have completed their training, they are given papers which allow them to return home proud and celebrated in town. Without those papers, if they return home they are disgraced and most likely would be subject to ostracization, so it really wasn't that voluntary a program. Xiu Xiu is sent to the remote Sichuan steppes to learn to be a horse herder. Like many politically created programs, this Cultural Revolutionary system was strife with corruption. The many pretty young girls sent to the camps become subject to forced prostitution to buy themselves a way home with all of the proper credentials. So it becomes with Wen Xiu (called Xiu Xiu by her friends), after her year with a quiet Tibetan horse herder passes and no one retrieves her. She hates having to be the sex slave of the officials and their friends, but saying no would guarantee she never gets home to the family she loves so much. Lao Jin, the horse herder Xiu Xiu is training with, realizes what is going on, but knows that Xiu Xiu would suffer if he interfered as well. In the end, though, this quiet man is forced to take an unthinkable action to free the girl he has come to love from the nightly attentions of the men. This movie is subtitled from the original Mandarin, however it also uses a lot of non-verbal images and facial expressions from the actors to convey its message. Such techniques really are, in my humble opinion, a true sign of a great actor...one that can express a feeling or thought without having to verbalize it. Lu Lu, the girl playing Wen Xiu, has definite potential as a high caliber actress. She does an excellent job of counter balancing the seriousness of Xiu Xiu's situation, while reminding us that Xiu Xiu is really still just a teenager, both innocent and with a little attitude all of her own. Lopsang was the perfect choice for Lao Jin. He clearly helps us see how much affection he develops for Xiu Xiu, while barely saying a word. Through his movements, facial expression and eyes, there is little question as to whether he is angry, hurt, sad or happy. Lao Jin is a very quiet man, and generally appears serious, however, in great part to Lopsang's fine acting, we discover that he has an almost impish sense of humor and is a man of great heart and honor. The on site filming adds in some of the most beautiful scene shots and backdrops with the lush green grass and gorgeous skies. The sky almost appears to change in relation to the happenings amongst Xiu Xiu and Lao Jin. I loved this movie, and would highly recommend it. If you've never tried a foreign language film, give it a shot. I personally recommend subtitled over dubbing any and every time, since a great part of an actor is their voice. Usually, when films are dubbed little effort is made to maintain any resemblance to the original actors voice and inflections. Subtitles also tend to be more accurate and are not as hard to read or distracting as some might think. Once a person is used to them, they almost blend themselves to the scene and the mind just automatically reads it while giving concentration to the screen. Only bad part of subtitling is that you can't turn away from the screen, which isn't too bad to me. The only thing I hated about this movie was the end. I don't wish to give it away, however I will say that while it was plausible it just wasn't the one I wanted or expected. It wasn't quite as sh Read more Less
