Rating: 
Summary: Joan Chen's Ambivalence
Review: This movie went in so many conflicting directions that I'm not sure how to feel about it. Okay, so the only man who doesn't ravage the young, innocent girl is a gelding; all the other "normal" men stand in line and take their turn with Xiu Xiu. Lao Jin, the gelding, is a strong, brave man (and ex-soldier) who falls in love with this spoiled, ambitious city girl, and he imagines that Xiu Xiu will want to stay with him herding horses in the open grasslands, but he does nothing to stop the parade of lusty bureaucratic wimps from entering his tent (although once he cooked a man's shoe in the fire). To confuse matters more, Xiu Xiu doesn't seem to mind the men's visits. I felt that Xiu Xiu missed the comforts of her city home more than she missed home itself. I also felt that Xiu Xiu might have slept her way up the ladder even if she had stayed in the city. She seemed to learn pretty quickly and easily about the power of her beauty - the only tragedy was that it was wasted on useless men. I could say more about the ending, but I don't want to give anything away. The scenery and the acting were great, which is why I give it three stars.
Rating:
Summary: Joan Chen's Ambivalence
Review: This movie went in so many conflicting directions that I'm not sure how to feel about it. Okay, so the only man who doesn't ravage the young, innocent girl is a gelding; all the other "normal" men stand in line and take their turn with Xiu Xiu. Lao Jin, the gelding, is a strong, brave man (and ex-soldier) who falls in love with this spoiled, ambitious city girl, and he imagines that Xiu Xiu will want to stay with him herding horses in the open grasslands, but he does nothing to stop the parade of lusty bureaucratic wimps from entering his tent (although once he cooked a man's shoe in the fire). To confuse matters more, Xiu Xiu doesn't seem to mind the men's visits. I felt that Xiu Xiu missed the comforts of her city home more than she missed home itself. I also felt that Xiu Xiu might have slept her way up the ladder even if she had stayed in the city. She seemed to learn pretty quickly and easily about the power of her beauty - the only tragedy was that it was wasted on useless men. I could say more about the ending, but I don't want to give anything away. The scenery and the acting were great, which is why I give it three stars.
Rating: 
Summary: WOW!!! What an amazing movie.
Review: This movie will stick with you for a long time. It is such a powerful story and it is filmed so beautifully, you will be crying into to your microwave popcorn for hours. It stil gives me chills thinking about it. BRAVO!!! Joan Chen
Rating:
Summary: Sex: The Annabel Chong Story - REVISITED.
Review: This reminded me of the movie noted above and this moved too slowly for my liking. "Raise the Red Lantern" is the best Chinese movie I've ever seen. If you're looking for an entertaining Oriental film - see that, not this.
Rating:
Summary: XIU XIU THE SENT DOWN GIRL
Review: This was a powerfull story and film about the China not seen or realized by the foreign world. I've been to Hong Kong more than 14 times since 1985 and Shanghai, though it took this movie to release me from my dream-like fasination with the country and violently throw me back into the reality of how good I have it in this country... how lucky I am to have been an American. A deeply moving film, expertly written, directed, and acted. I still feel for all the children of that era, as I was a child then... You're not to forget this film in any short period of time. More of a Documentary-Drama film rather than a comical, predictable ending American-made movie. Plan to watch this when you are in the mood for a good cry, or soul searching. It encourages you to think... you can't get away from that. A must for the open-minded buff who enjoys and knows how to watch a movie while reading subtitles.
Rating: 
Summary: Preachy - but OK
Review: Visually this is beautiful to look at. I have no problems with
its implicit political aspects. It seems to me quite
legitimate to show what a bankrupt idea the Cultural Revolution
really was. The journey of the principal character from wide-eyed
communist innocent to her final state is very harrowing. People's
lives were ruined forever by this idiocy and we should not
forget. Heck I am sure there are still tin pot dictators in
small towns and villages all over the Peoples Republic stillenforcing the hard party line. This is a brave movie, well worth seeing, with a timely story
and very very good acting.
Rating:
Summary: who knew joan chen was a director?
Review: What an excellent piece of work to make your first directorial effort. This movie really hit home for me because many of my relatives were "sent down" during the Cultural Revolution and I've asked them many times what it was like and I couldn't imagine myself leaving everything I know and going to the Chinese countryside for god knows how long. The one answer I didn't get was why Mao Zedong thought this was a good idea. Although there are countless good things I can say about this movie, the things that stick in my mind the most are the grotesque sex (for lack of a better word) scenes. They just made me sick. I literally felt like throwing up. I'm surprised I haven't had nightmares. In response to the person who said s/he didn't understand why this movie got an R rating, I totally understand! If I had seen it a few years ago, I would have been scarred for life and I would never want to have sex, ever.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful, haunting story
Review: Xiu Xiu: the Sent-Down Girl is Joan Chen's labour of love as well as her debut film as a director. It shows great promise and is probably one of the most beautiful films of the last decade. The cinematography reminds me of "Days of Heaven" or "Horse Whisperer" and was filmed in the beautiful and exotic Chinese countryside (albeit under the noses of the unaware Chinese government). The story is set during the Cultural Revolution around the time when city children were set into the countryside to better their education and make them more well-rounded citizens upon their return. Unfortunately, many of these children never did return for a variety of reasons. This story is about one such child, Xiu Xiu, who gets sent down to the countryside to learn the horse trade but becomes forgotten. "Xiu Xiu" is a character-driven story, and a strong one at that. We learn much about the characters, their motivations and their desires. And we see somewhat indirectly some of the unfortunate consequences of the Cultural Revolution. Yet this is not at all a political story but rather a gentle and touching love story of sorts. I strongly recommend it for those seeking films of a more personal nature rather than the typical Hollywood blockbuster. My only complaint about the DVD, for those wishing to buy it, is that it is quite a bare-bones DVD. True, the picture quality and sound quality are superb, but there are no extras included on the DVD at all. Nothing, zip. Not even a trailer or filmography. At the very least, Image Entertainment should have persuaded Joan Chen to do a commentary for this film, as it was such a personal endeavour for her. But alas, all we are given is the movie itself. The film itself gets a strong 5 stars, but the lack of anything at all on the DVD brings it down to 4 stars. Nonetheless, the film is easily one of the best films released in 1999, and I highly recommend it!
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