Rating: 
Summary: A Great Look at Modern China
Review: This film once again pairs one of the greatest actress director teams. Gong Li and Zhang Yimou. This is the team that has given us so many great Chinese films.What is different about this film is the time period. Most of the Yimou Gong Li pairs have been very historical: WWII, the Mao years, the Warlord period etc. This film is different in that it is a look at modern China and the current Communist beauracracy. In the short run, its a story of a woman trying to get justice for her embarrassed husband. But it is really a commentary on the current government in China and how people in China are dealing with the system. I dont want to go into too many details about the plot and give anything away. Just know this. It's a wondeful movie just like the other pairings of these two great moviemakers.
Rating: 
Summary: A search for justice in Communist China.
Review: This film shows Gong Li's acting ability. If you are purchasing this video with hopes of seeing Gong Li's ravishing beauty, you will be disappointed. She is blandly dressed and pregnant through most of the film. In this film, she is a farmer's wife in search of justice within the bureaucracy of the Peoples Republic of China. Stubborn and relentless, she repeatedly pursues an "apology" from the man who harmed her husband. Along the road to justice, she meets many nice people who offer practical advice. But she does not heed them until it is too late. This film is interesting but, if you love Gong Li, try Temptress Moon or Raise the Red Lantern. LouinDC
Rating:
Summary: A well-made, but flawed, cultural portrayal
Review: This film was beautifully filmed, and the acting was, for the most part, excellent. Gong Li did not live up to her usual brilliance, but still did a very good job portraying the character she was given. The problem lies in the character she was given. This film is exemplary of the mistaken attitude of China's intellectuals about "peasant consciousness." Chinese intellectuals, even those who sympathize with the peassants' wishes, tend to think of the Chinese peasantry as being backward, simple and childlike. This perception stems from resentment of Mao's centralization of the peasant during the Cultural Revolution, but as such is nonetheless invalid. The movie is interesting, at times entertaining, but for the most part not an accurate portrayal of life in China's countryside.
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Summary: A parable of modern China
Review: This is a story about saving face and winning face, and what can happen if you carry things too far. Gong Li stars as Qiu Ju, a peasant woman with child whose husband is kicked in the groin by the local chief. She wants an apology. The chief of course will not apologize since he would then lose face. Both are stubborn and obstinate. Proud and determined, Qiu Ju steers her way through the bureaucracy from the village to the district to the city; but the thing she desires, an apology from the chief, eludes her. He cannot apologize because he has only sired daughters. He has license (he believes in his heart) because he was insulted by her husband who said he raised "only hens." The Chinese locales, from village roads to big city avenues are presented with stunning clarity so that the color and the sense of life is vivid and compelling. Director Zhang Yimou. forces us to see. From the opening shot of the mass of people in the city walking toward us (out of which emerges Qiu Ju) to the feast celebrating the child's first month of life near the end, we feel the humanity of the great mass of the Chinese people. In a sense this is a gentle satire of the bureaucratic state that modern China has become. But Zhang Yimou emphasizes the bounty of China and not its poverty. There is a sense of abundance with the corn drying in the eaves, the sheets of dough being cut into noodles, the fat cows on the roads and the bright red chili drying in the sun. There is snow on the ground and the roads are unpaved, but there is an idyllic feeling of warmth emanating from the people. One gets the idea that fairness and tolerance will prevail. In another sense, this is a parable about the price of things and how that differs from what is really of value. So often is price mentioned in the movie that I can tell you that a yuan at the time of the movie was worth about a dollar in its buying power. (Four and a half yuan for a "pound" of chili; five yuan as a fair price for a short cab ride; twenty yuan for a legal letter.) Getting justice in the strict sense is what Qiu Ju demands. Her affable husband would settle for a lot less. He is the wiser of the two. Notice how Qiu Ju is acutely sensitive to price. She bargains well and avoids most of the rip offs of the big city. But what is the value of being a member of the community? This is a lesson she needs to learn, and, as the movie ends, she does.
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Summary: SHE ONLY WANTED JUSTICE
Review: Your eyes are assaulted by crowds of people walking on a street filled with pedestrians, cars, bikes and wagons. One woman and her small cart capture your attention. Something is wrong. She is pregnant, weary and her husband is hurt. A doctor examins him, gives him medication and sends this country couple back home. Thus begins the story Qiu Ju played by Gong Li. Her husband was kicked in the groin by the village chief. All she wants is an apology. It doesn't come and now this stubborn woman is swept up in the comedy of Chinese bureaucracy which seems to never end. If you have ever been given the run around by the system you will indeed enjoy this story of two strong willed people unwilling to unbend. Watching the silliness of government civil servants makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time. Seeing a woman who only wants justice taking her case to higher and higher levels of authority makes you curious to find out if she will win. Gong Li is wonderful as the woman who won't take no for an answer. Watch this thrilling drama as she fights for dignity. But is it worth it? Can you fight city hall? Let us see what Qiu Ju can tell us in her struggle.
Rating:
Summary: Yimou's Most Thoughtful Film
Review: Zhang Yimou's "The Story of Qiu Ju" is not a masterpiece as is his film "Raise the Red Lantern." It doesn't have the epic qualities of "To Live" nor is it as visually stunning as "The Road Home." But "Qiu Ju" may well be Yimou's most thought provoking film, leaving you pondering the messages a long time after the film has ended. Qiu Ju's husband has been kicked ("where it counts") by the village chief. The only bit of justice Qiu Ju wants is an apology. It seems to be a simple enough request, but her search for the apology proves to be elusive as she encounters a legal system more interested in its own red tape than in the needs of ordinary people. But this is not "Erin Brockovich" where the sides of "good" and "bad" are easily defined. The people in the legal system Qiu Ju encounters are genuinely decent folks. They are also, unfortunately, a bit clueless. And Qiu Ju is not beyond reproach herself. At the conclusion of the film even she is realizing that she has pushed the matter too far. Just how far should one go to seek justice in this world? Even if you are totally in the right, does there come a time when you must let the matter rest for your own sake as well as everybody else's? There are no easy answers. This is another great performance by Gong Li in the title role. She may be one of the most beautiful women in the world, but here she is not above playing "dowdy." And as usual, Zhang Yimou is nearly flawless in his direction. He gives a wonderful tip of the hat to the late French director Francois Truffaut in the end, echoing that famous final shot of Truffaut's "The 400 Blows." But this is a film that will stick with you well past that last shot.
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