Film
‘The Sent-Down Girl ' (Xiu Xiu) was a ground-breaking feminist film in the
1990s in Chinese Cinema. Directed by female actress and director Joan Chen, the
story was adapted by the novel of one the greatest female writers Geling Yan in
this century. Unfortunately it was banned in the mainland China due to the
sensitivity of the topic for Chinese government and big amount nudities. However
it cannot be denied that the indelible influence it brought to the Chinese
cinema and further filmmakers.
It
is almost impossible for modern people to understand the unique background of
the story. 1975 was almost the end of cultural revolution—after the foundation
of the PRChina chairman Mao established his own regime in this land, while
after years he was deified by his own people. In the 1950s he initiated the
movement to send teenagers in cities to countryside in the name of “perishing the
discrepancies and contradiction” between cities and rural areas. For most of
the teenagers it meant they lost the change of education, was forced to leave
their hometown and family, did heavy manual labor in the fields. The female
leading Xiu Xiu in the film is a true picture of the chaotic time. In the beginning
she was volunteered to leave her hometown and expected to come back after six
months. The life was tough and boring, she soon started missing her family and
all the goodness in her hometown. After been tortured by the desperation and
endless waiting, she gave her virginity to a man who promised to take her back
to the city.
In
order to film a bold topic director Joan had spent two years of preparation.
Joan Chen started her career as a actress in the year 1977 in mainland China
and went to America for further study in 1981. “ I was not
attempting to "romanticize" the Cultural Revolution, but rather
"poeticize" it — at best a dubious distinction.” she explained her
intention of making this conservational historical issue into a feminist film
when she knew it would not be accept by the mainstream media in China even
until now. She was fearless—years of working and studying film in Hollywood had
given her enough confidence for indicating this real disaster to the world. Referring
to her own grandparents’ suffering during the Cultural Revolution, Chen says, "I
believe when your experience is more crystallized through distance and time,
you’re more able to poeticize something…but I don’t believe beauty exists
without suffering…that’s just a tourist picture in a travel agency."
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