Xiu Xiu is a scathing look at communism in China, focusing on the story of a 15-year-old girl who is sent down to the countryside during the last years of the Chinese Revolution (1967-76). The girl works at hard labor and is gradually used by a string of powerful men who accept sex from her in exchange for promises that they have no intention of fulfilling.
Filmed in remote reaches of Tibet, the scenery is beautiful, even all those shots of the clouds that director/producer/writer Joan Chen seems to love. The relationship that develops between the girl and an older horsehearder who was "deprived of his manhood" by Tibetan rebels also is sweet and properly understated. It's clear he loves her and wishes he wasn't powerless to protect her.
However, the story is uneven. Still, it's worth seeing -- if nothing else, it's interesting to see a movie that's been banned in the country in which it was made.
Filmed in remote reaches of Tibet, the scenery is beautiful, even all those shots of the clouds that director/producer/writer Joan Chen seems to love. The relationship that develops between the girl and an older horsehearder who was "deprived of his manhood" by Tibetan rebels also is sweet and properly understated. It's clear he loves her and wishes he wasn't powerless to protect her.
However, the story is uneven. Still, it's worth seeing -- if nothing else, it's interesting to see a movie that's been banned in the country in which it was made.