The Story of Qiu Ju [Qiu Ju da guan si] **** (1992, Gong Li, Liu Peiqi, Yang Liuchun, Lei Kesheng) – Classic Movie Review 7881

Director Zhang Yimou’s 1992 The Story of Qiu Ju [Qiu Ju da guan si] is a strongly allegorical tale from the director of Red Sorghum, Ju Dou and Raise the Red Lantern, which differs from those earlier successes because of Qiu Ju’s contemporary nature.

The screenplay is by Heng Liu, based on the novella The Wan Family’s Lawsuit by Yuan Bin Chen. Landowner and village chief Wang Shantang (Lei Kesheng) damages chili farmer Wan Qinglai (Liu Peiqi,) in a fight and Qinglai’s pregnant wife Qui Ju (Gong Li) takes him to court. But on the night when her baby is due, no one is in the village except for Wang.

As ever with Yimou, the maestro of modern Chinese cinema, sexual politics get a sound going over, and Gong Li puts in another persuasive performance as a woman fighting to assert herself as an individual in a male-dominated society. Many of the smaller parts are played by local amateurs.

The Story of Qiu Ju [Qiu Ju da guan si] is the winner of the Golden Lion for best film at the 1992 Venice Film Festival, and Gong Li won the Best Actress award.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7881

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