THE STORY OF QIU JU Movie Review

Qiu Ju Da Guansi
Qiu Ju Goes to Court

The pregnant Qiu Ju's husband is assaulted and injured by the head of their rural Chinese village. Outraged and angered at the lack of any justice or compensation for the injury, the determined, quietly obsessive Qiu Ju (a nearly unrecognizable Gong Li) slowly climbs up the labyrinthine Chinese administrative ladder from official to higher official as she insistently seeks redress. A novel called The Wan Family's Lawsuit was the basis for the film, but China's great Zhang Yimou has created a work that has the unmistakable imprint of his own humanity, humor, and eloquence. The stunning Gong's peasant outfit and her labored, waddling gait mark a new kind of character for her, and she brings the sweet, sympathetic performance off with total control. The movie marks a new look for Zhang as well; the formal, richly stylized images we're used to in films like Raise the Red Lantern are here replaced by a near-documentary, hand-held visual design that is absolutely right for this small story, which by its conclusion has assumed the much larger proportions of a classic fable. Venice Film Festival Award for Best Actress.

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1991 (PG) 100m/C CH Gong Li, Lei Lao Sheng, Liu Pei Qu, Ge Zhi Jun, Ye Jun, Yang Liu Xia, Zhu Qanging, Cui Luowen, Yank Huiquin, Wang Jianfa, Lin Zi; D: Zhang Yimou; W: Liu Heng; C: Chi Xiaonin, Yu Xaioqun; M: Zhao Jiping. National Society of Film Critics Awards ‘93: Best Foreign Film; Venice Film Festival ‘92: Best Actress (Li), Best Film; Nominations: Independent Spirit Awards ‘94: Best Foreign Film. VHS, LV COL