The Story of Qiu Ju (1992)

August 16, 2024 10:20 PM

A peasant woman (Gong Li) seeks justice after the headman of her village has kicked her husband in the groin. Directed by Zhang Yimou.

Gong Li plays a pregnant woman in a rural village in Shaanxi province in the 1990s whose husband is brutally kicked in the balls during a fight with the village chief. Outraged, she takes her case to the legal system, setting forth from her village repeatedly. She moves from village to town to the city, working through the bureaucracy, determined to get justice.

One of Zhangs few movies set in contemporary China, he used concealed cameras for several scenes, providing an rare candid view of the era. There are several hilarious situations as Gong Li stumbles about the wider world, but the inciting incident is not played for laughs.

Winner of the Golden Lion (Best Picture) and the Volpi Cup (Best Actress) at the 1992 Venice Film Festival. Streaming free on Plex.

posted by WhackyparseThis (10 comments total)

I was so excited to watch this, but apparently Plex only has it without subtitles. :(
posted by Literaryhero at 4:32 AM on August 17

No, there are English subtitles - try clicking the icon to the right of the volume control bar.
posted by trig at 4:36 AM on August 17 [1 favorite]

What I wouldn't do for some of the earlier Zhang Yimou to come back in print, esp. this one, Raise the Red Lantern, Ju Dou, and To Live. It doesn't make much sense that they'd all be unavailable for so long, given how excellent they all are; I can only assume that Yimou's prior trouble with the Chinese government is the cause of that.
posted by johnofjack at 2:04 PM on August 17 [1 favorite]

Maybe Curzon could put together one of their amazing director boxed sets for Yimou.

Here's the one for Wim Wenders.

I'd be right there for one for Yimou.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:59 PM on August 17

There's a boxset just for you. Collaborations :The Cinema Of Zhang Yimou And Gong Li.

I'm curious where Plex got this copy from. The subtitles are riddled with spelling errors, and the picture quality is a bit rough, like an early DVD.
posted by WhackyparseThis at 3:47 PM on August 17

I've thought about buying a region-free player just so I can watch some of the films only released on disc outside the U.S. (e.g. Ken Russell's The Devils, and now apparently these); perhaps I'll start keeping a list of those as I come across them.

I saw Yimou's early films literally decades ago, on VHS.
posted by johnofjack at 4:11 PM on August 17

No, there are English subtitles - try clicking the icon to the right of the volume control bar.

You are totally correct. The info screen for the movie says "Subtitles None" but if you click on the "None" it allows you to change it to English. Gonna watch this now! :)
posted by Literaryhero at 6:42 PM on August 17

Wow, what a movie.
posted by Literaryhero at 4:33 AM on August 18

The movie itself is a bit of an oddity. Zhang Yimou's usual trademark of vibrant colour is not here at all. Everything is covered in a dull grey patina of smog and underinvestment. He also managed to make the movie about a woman battling Chinas bureaucracy, but made the bureaucracy the most even-handed and fairest bureaucracy you've ever seen. Gong Li usually plays a glamourous beauty, but here she's bundled up in an old quilted jacket for the whole movie. Even when she gets new city clothes, she keeps wearing it (which was one of the funniest gags in the movie).
posted by WhackyparseThis at 5:20 AM on August 18 [1 favorite]

Even when she gets new city clothes, she keeps wearing it (which was one of the funniest gags in the movie).

Yeah that is pure gold.
posted by Literaryhero at 2:21 AM on August 20