Gonna live-tweeting watching the movie "Xiu Xiu: The Sent-down Girl" 天浴 because people keep bring it up after my appearance on @catcontentonly Radio Free Amanda podcast talking abt my parents' experience of "sent-down" to Tibetan region during Cultural Revolution 🧵
In a way it's interesting because Xiu Xiu is the directorial debut of famous Chinese actress Joan Chen陈冲
Chen too young to experience getting sent-down to countryside in Cultural Revolution because she was born in 1961. Her debut was 1979 film 小花 aft Cultural Revolution
Chen too young to experience getting sent-down to countryside in Cultural Revolution because she was born in 1961. Her debut was 1979 film 小花 aft Cultural Revolution
Was gonna say everything too clean, too neat to be 1960s China, whole thing feels more early 1980s. Then I noticed the film suppose to set in 1975 which is odd because that's 1 year away from the end of Cultural Revolution
The story is based on writing of Yan Ge-ling 严歌苓 who also wrote the script for Feng Xiaogang's 2017 film "Youth" 芳华.
I thought Youth was ok but my Aunt didn't like it because she felt it didn't reflect her experience during late Cultural Revolution
I thought Youth was ok but my Aunt didn't like it because she felt it didn't reflect her experience during late Cultural Revolution
Back to Xiu Xiu. some details match my memories of early 1980s. The brown toilet paper and strip of menstruation cloth
+1 point for Sichuanese dialogue. nobody in 1975 Chengdu would speak to each other in Standard Mandarin unless 1 person is from outside of Sichuan province
I can't get over how the scene of sent off of educated youth to countryside is more like my 1980s school camping trip than historic photos of send-down youth going to countryside
The open air movie theatre do remind me of 1980s China
They literally emasculated the Tibetan character by making him lose his balls in his background story. WTF!
Xiu Xiu went to live with Tibetan herder Lao Jin, the language suddenly shifted frm Sichuanese to Standard Mandarin. It was bit jarring bc Sichuanese is lingua franca in Sichuan Tibetan region
Tibetan actor Lobsang 洛桑群培 was born in TAR, went to school in Shanghai. prbly why
Tibetan actor Lobsang 洛桑群培 was born in TAR, went to school in Shanghai. prbly why
Idk if the film was filmed on location but the beautiful scenery does look like Tibetan area of Western Sichuan
Lol. this scene before Xiu Xiu' bath remind me of Mom's story of bathing in natural hot springs on Tibetan Plateau. for the whole story you gotta to listen the podcast I did w @catcontentonly:
Idk why the Tibetan herdsmen were speaking Tibetan to him but Lobsang's character Lao Jin responded in Standard Mandarin. Is it because the language difference btw Khamba nomad in W Sichuan and Central Tibet where the actor Lobsang is from?
The timeline at least historically correct, after end of Cultural Revolution, "sent-down" educated youth demanded to repatriate to their hometown. Many protest erupted all over China from Yunnan to Xinjiang circa 1976-1978
I see why this movie is banned in China now. Lol
When she starts bang other random guys hoping to go back to Chengdu, she just seems dumb rather than sympathetic.
Xiu Xiu definitely not a sympathetic character the way she treats Lobsang’s character like he is her servant
The desperation of "sent-down" youth to return to cities were definitely real in late 1970s. But the film title char Xiu Xiu just come across as selfish, self centered and dumb. Not a very sympathetic character
Loading suggestions...