Qiu Ju da guan si

Plot synopsis:
Qiu Ju is a peasant who lives in a small farming enclave with her husband Qinglai. She is in the final trimester of her pregnancy. One day while her husband is conversing to Wang Shantang, the head of the community, a miscommunication ensues. The leader feels insulted and beats Qinglai, kicking him so severely in the groin that he must see a doctor and remain absent from work.
Qiu Ju goes to the local police office and complains. The policeman makes the village chief pay 200 yuan to Qinglai. When Qiu Ju goes to the headman, he insultingly throws the 200 yuan notes onto the ground and refuses to apologize. Qiu Ju then goes to the provincial capital accompanied by her husbands' younger sister, Meizi. By luck the two women find lodging at a cheap hotel. The two women meet the district police chief and he promises them that their case will be reviewed.
The new verdict from the district police is that this time the village headman must pay 250 yuan. He still refuses to apologize and so Qiu Ju goes back to the big city and finds a lawyer who takes the case and files suit under a new law.
The case is judged by the court as having been correctly resolved by the district, the fine remains at 250 yuan, Qiu Ju is unhappy but all she can do is make yet another appeal to an even higher level of police investigation. As part of the suit, officials come to the village and Qiu Ju's husband is X-rayed at the local hospital.
It's now the middle of winter, Qiu Ju goes into labor. When sought help, the headman with a group of local men carries Qiu Ju to the hospital, where she gives birth safely to a healthy baby boy.
A month later the whole village is invited to the "one-month party" for the baby. Qiu Ju and her husband invite the village chief too for his help in saving Qiu Ju's life. But he doesn't come, and the local policeman shows up to tell Qiu Ju that the X-rays revealed her husband had a broken rib. As a result, the village chief is being sent to jail on a fifteen-day-term.
Qiu Ju tries to stop the police from taking the headman away but never even sees the police and the movie ends with Qiu Ju looking anguished. This ending, along with some selfish and anti-community behavior on the part of Qiu Ju and her husband expresses the difficulty of regarding the film as a simple fight against injustice. Rather, it shows the limitations of modern legal approaches in villages where old-style human relations underlie social life.

Tags: humor

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.
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.
And the social roles in this were interesting: Farm/village chief to farmer, sister to sister, daughter-in-law to her in-laws, Party officials to their hierarchy and to citizens, country to city, women's role in general (as in what sex babies are preferred) and the strong stance of a specific woman like Qiu Ju, who seemed to be empowered as much as frustrated by the system and by her family and neighbors.I read reviews of this as a negative comment on bureaucracy.
I only spent 3 weeks in China, but this movie brought back the feel of China, its people, and organizations.Qxi Ju wants an apology from the Chief of the commune for kicking her husband in the groin.
The scenes all seem so realistic and beautifully photographed.Yimou Zhang also made "Raise the Red Lantern" which gets higher praise, but that movie is about a world that is harder for me to relate to.
Gong Li stars as Qiu Ju, a peasant woman with child whose husband is kicked in the groin by the local chief.
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 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.
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.
Gong Li, China's top actress in the 1990s (deservedly so), plays a naive but determined innocent, a young married woman from a remote farming village who wants nothing more than to have the village elder apologize to her husband for kicking him in a fit of anger.
The bureaucratic nightmare she endures, making repeated trips to "the city" to seek justice, exposes her to a system she didn't know existed, a completely convoluted and impregnable one that operates solely by standards and practices, totally devoid of compassion or an understanding of the people it governs.This is a small film, an earlier work by master Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou (To Live, Ju Dou), but what really makes it work is Gong as Qiu Ju. Every effect of this effectless society registers on her face, mostly in the form of surprise at the promises unkept and disappointment at the lack of concern by officials who are supposed to be responsible to "the people." She makes us care deeply about Qiu Ju, even though we may not be able to identify directly with her circumstances, but even beyond this, she makes these provincial circumstances universal by being the everywoman, someone who just wants the people in charge to do what's right without it necessarily having any adverse impact on themselves.
Gong's ability to inject political situations with sincere human emotion has made her an ideal representative of the message running through all of Zhang's films (she has appeared in several of them), but beyond this, she simply is a great actress who should eventually become as world renowned as Joan Chen once was.What makes this film even more prescient is how well many Americans may identify with the nightmares presented by a government hierarchy overstuffed with "I just work here" bureaucrats.
China is still very much a paternalistic society (despite Communist reform),and the 'one child' policy has only reinforced the old Chinese adage that "if you bear a girl,bear a beautiful one, if you bear a son, bear an intelligent one." So understandably,from the viewpoint of Qiu Ju,not only does her husband suffer but her entire family name and honor suffers too, when the man is attacked in a 'sacred place', his gonads.
This movie, "The Story of Qiu Ju", follows the actions of the main character Qiu Ju, a determined rural resident who seeks out authorities after her husband is kicked by her village chief.One thing I liked about the movie was the plot - it was fresh and original.
Her husband just got kicked in the nuts by their farming community's chief, and Qiu Ju wants an apology.
They can make him dole out monetary compensation, but that's not good enough for Qiu Ju. Every time she doesn't get the results she wants, she attempts to go to a higher level of authority.
I love the final look on her face when the film ends, but I think pretty much anyone could have played Qiu Ju. I know, it sounds like I hated it, but I didn't.
A pregnant peasant woman seeks redress from the Chinese bureaucracy after the village chief kicks her husband in the groin in this comedy of justice.
As she is frustrated by each level of the hierarchy and travels farther and farther away from the countryside the viewer is also provided with a look at the changing Chinese society through the verite camera used in most scenes.Roger Ebert said "along the way we absorb more information about the lives of ordinary people in everyday China than in any other film I've seen." And really, this is the greatness of the film.
The only matter that is truly ineffectual is making such a rash and shallow statement about a film that actually bears more emotion for bureaucracy than against it.Each instance of appeal to the officers of the government raises the level of kindness and mercy shown to little country Qiu Ju venturing so far into a civilized wilderness packed with wolves.
A simply story about a village woman seeking justice for the maltreatment of her husband by the Village chief.
Power-play removes anyone in the way: even LIU Shao-qi, the 2nd-man in power before the Cultural Revolution of 1966, was gotten rid of because he endangered Mao's position (like to see a movie on that story, but it's guaranteed banned material in China).Qiu Ju is admirable because she is earnest and persistent.
When will the Internet be truly open to the average Qiu Ju in China?So to get this movie approved and circulated, the bad guy in this movie got what he deserved: put in prison, though Qiu Ju only demanded an apology from the Village-head.
This incident will eventually lead to a ball of bureaucratic red tape as big as a boulder.Recuperating at home and letting his privates air out, Wan is willing to let the matter pass, but his wife Qiu Ju, Gong Li, argues her case to the Party official Officer Li and he orders Chief Wang to pay for Wan's medical bills and lost wages.
She wants Chief Wang to explain why he kicked her husband in the family jewels and apologize for doing so, but being that he is a proud man and feels that he was wronged by Wan, the chief refuses to do so.
He even goes as far as to toss the 200 Yuan he is supposed to give Wan in front of Qiu Ju and tells her to pick up each bill individually so that she bows to him twenty times.Infuriated by Chief Wand, the very pregnant Qiu Ju, with her young sister-in-law Meizi in tow, heads for the village office.
When Chief Wang is only ordered to pay 50 Yuan more, Qiu Ju and Meizi make their way to the big city.While on its surface this film might at first seem as nothing more than one woman's search for justice, it is much more than that.
He believes that, and is probably right in most cases, that his membership and loyalty to the party will protect him from a commoner such as Qiu Ju. Qiu Ju doubts the system when she wonders if someone like her has a chance against someone in Chief Wang's position.Outside of politics, the film also does a good contrasting the lives of those who live in the countryside with those who live in the city.
However, their naivety moves a few people to aid them, such as the old man who owns the hotel in which they reside and Official Yan a Party official who Qiu Ju holds great respect for.Displaying the beauty, and poverty, of China's frigid northern landscape, The Story of Qiu Ju, while not a polemic blast against the Chinese political system, displays the complex web of the Middle Kingdom's political system and the ways in which those in power, even if that person is just the chief of a small village, takes advantage of those in weaker positions.
"The Story Of Qiu Ju" is the story of a woman's fight against the Communist bureaucracy as she struggles to get justice for her husband, Qinglai.
Qiu Lu wants an apology from the chief, because she's afraid her husband won't be able to father children after the kick.
Given that this was made in Communist China, I have to assume that the government had some censorship role in it, and I was surprised at the amount of fun that was poked at the system throughout, but I also thought I detected something of a warning in how this ended - don't take things too far because they could get out of hand.There's a realistic feel to the depictions of village life in this, and the interconnectedness of the lives of the people in the village also comes through clearly.
The story of Qiu Ju. The film of Qiu Ju Da Guan Si was produced by Zhang Yimou who was the fifth generation filmmaker in China.
The story was happened in a small mountain village, the main character---Qiu Ju is a peasant woman whose husband was kicked by the village Chief.
Because of village Chief is a stubborn man, he did not think he made a mistake at that case; also he wants to save his face, so he did not want to give apologies.
The whole process is from the village to county, from county to city, finally to the court.The plot of this film revolves around the Qiu Ju's action.
From the beginning of film, we can see a typical Chinese mountain village with a traditional ditty of Shan Xi. Then, we can see a pregnant women walking in the snow and her name is Qiu Ju, this scene make me impressive.
In this film, the officer Li Gong An always say the village chief is very stubborn.
Otherwise, there was a contradiction in this film, as we know Qiu Ju just wants an apology, but the village chief did not gave her an apology.
At the end of the film, the camera gave her a close-up, her face was full of helpless and confusion.In short, the director Zhang Yimou uses this story to express the awakening of personal rights.
In my opinion, this film is full of Chinese characteristic; it reflects the social condition of that time and includes people's thought changing.
Although this story is supposedly about how a simple farm villager's wife tries to get official justice for the mayor hurting her husband, it is relevant in many ways.
This is a very nice movie about a young woman seeking justice for a misdemeanor by the village chief.
Gong Li as Qiu Ju, the young uneducated woman, is a talented actress, just like in her earlier movie, Ju Dou (1990).
After earning film festival awards and critical acclaim worldwide for his powerful tragedies, Director Zhang Yimou explores new themes in 'The Story of Qiu Ju.'Once again, he examines social injustice but this time avoids dark visions.
Some critics describe this film as a protest by Zhang Yimou against the Chinese government.
Yet, the tale could be placed in any village in East Asia or, indeed, in any time and place one finds misunderstanding, wounded pride, conflict, and resolution.Gong Li, so beautiful in other films, reveals her acting versatility by portraying Qiu Ju (roughly pronounced as 'show chew'), as a hugely pregnant peasant.
Gong Li had prepared for this role by living for months in a village of Northeast China to learn the local dialect and to get a feeling for this rural culture.The story begins when Qiu Ju demands an apology from her village chief, who had injured her husband during a quarrel with a blow to the groin.
In the opening scene, Zhang Yimou draws us steadily into the rhythms and mood of the story when his camera gradually brings us past strolling pedestrians to introduce us to Qiu Ju and another peasant woman helping to push her disabled husband in a cart.
After hearing Qiu Ju's story, this district administrator urges her to settle for cash from the village chief.
One of the film's best portraits is of this little peasant woman quietly standing by Qiu Ju's side.She never questions nor complains; we all hope for friends like that.The film's quiet tone and slow pace also give us time to appreciate some underlying social criticisms.
You won't forget the vision of Qiu Ju at the end, bewildered and regretful, getting a verdict in her favor but that she did not want.Those who have lived in any East Asian village will understand why Qiu Ju was urged to take money but not force the chief to lose face.
Some Thai friends told me that the film also evoked childhood memories of their village life, where a Buddhist monk would arbitrate personal disputes and act to restore calm.PS: This film was made in 1992, after the ending of the Chinese cultural revolution enabled Zhang Yimou to enroll in the new Beijing Film Academy.
Get real people, she wants "nothing more than to have the village elder apologize to her husband".
This film adaption of Chen Yuanbin's novella The Wan Family's Lawsuit tells the story of a peasant woman, Qiu Ju (Gong Li), who lives in a rural area of China.
When her husband is kicked in the groin by the village head, Qiu Ju, despite her pregnancy, travels around looking for a apology.
The faults of the film are that the movie is hard to get through in one sitting, there are long periods of non-talking, and nothing going on screen, and the never ending tragic results of Qiu Ju not getting her way.
This is a very brief review of "Red Sorghum" (1987), "Ju Dou" (1990), "Raise the Red Lantern" (1991), "The Story of Qiu Ju" (1992) and "To Live" (1994), five films by Zhang Yimou.
And yet still this bureaucracy does not please Qiu Ju. It thinks in terms of commodities, monetary recompense and punishment, whilst Qiu Ju (like Zhang Yimou himself, whose previous films were banned, without explanation, by Chinese authorities) seems more interested in acquiring a "shuafa", a simple explanation and apology.
Not a waste of time for those with enough patience to wait for the story to reach its conclusion, but not as good as many other of Gong Li's & Yimou Zhang's work..
Qiu Ju DA guan Si. In China, there are a lot of films about rural stories, they delivered audience the impression of Chinese country life, and the honest but obstinate personality of people living there.
The film The Story of Qiu Ju is one of the masterpiece directed by Zhang Yimou in 1992, describes an ordinary rural woman, Qiu Ju, who has similar personality as others born and live in countryside, despite she is more stubborn and persistence.
In The story of Qiu Ju, we can see the difficulty of find justice under the old bureaucracy in China.
In order to find righteousness，Qiu Ju, a woman from China's undeveloped area, small village of Shaanxi, when her new married husband is kicked in the groin by the village head, she goes to the closest town, then the bigger city to try to deal with the bureaucrats and find justice in spite of her pregnancy.The story of Qiu Ju is a Chinese comedy-drama film, the genre category is established based on the storyline.
But as every government officer in China, he do not want give what Qiu Ju need because of saving face.
She is seeking for an impartial end, not money, not this one either.To sum up, the film is a story of bureaucracy and ordinary people, traditional code of conduct and the law.
Every time I saw Qiu Ju walking on the white snowing country road, then get free ride to the town and city, I was touched and wondering how long will rural people live in China will go through to get justice.
However, the officers in this film is all kind and dedicated to helping Qiu Ju, I think is not common in China, there is barely no one like Yan. Maybe it is the way the director encourages rural people to find justice, just as Qiu Ju did..
The outraged pregnant wife (Gong Li) of an injured Chinese peasant appeals to the highest courts in the land to force a village elder to apologize for injuring her husband.