The Story of Qiu Ju (1992) Qiu Ju da guan si (original title)

Director:

Yimou Zhang

Writers:

Heng Liu
Yuan Bin Chen (writer of the the novella on which the film is based, "The Wan Family's Lawsuit")

Release Date:

16 April 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Bureaucracy | Countryside | Rural Setting | Pregnancy | Determination

Awards:

16 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Li Gong	...	Qiu Ju
Peiqi Liu	...	Wan Qinglai, chili farmer
Liuchun Yang	...	Meizi, Qinglai's sister
Kesheng Lei	...	Wang Shantang, village chief
Zhijun Ge	...	Officer Li
Wanqing Zhu
Luowen Cui
Huiqin Yang
Jianfa Wang
Zi Lin
Jun Ye

Directed by
Yimou Zhang

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Yuan Bin Chen		writer of the the novella on which the film is based, "The Wan Family's Lawsuit"
Heng Liu

Produced by
Yiting Feng	....	producer
Fung Kwok Ma	....	producer

Original Music by
Jiping Zhao

Cinematography by
Xiaoning Chi
Hongyi Lu
Xiaoquin Yu

Film Editing by
Yuan Du

Art Direction by
Juiping Cao

Costume Design by
Huamiao Tong

Makeup Department
Sun Wei	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Hongguo Zhang	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Xiaofeng Hu	....	assistant director
Tian Weixi	....	assistant director
Zhenyan Zhang	....	assistant director

Art Department
Zhongquan Hu	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Lanhua Li	....	sound

Production Companies

• Sil-Metropole Organisation
• Youth Film Studio of Beijing Film Academy

Distributors

• AFMD (1992) (France) (theatrical)
• Film Arte (Argentina)
• Golem Distribución (Spain)
• Sony Pictures Classics (1993) (USA) (subtitled)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (Argentina) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"Qiu Ju da guan si" - China (original title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some language

Runtime:

Spain:100 min | UK:100 min | USA:101 min (video version)

Country:

China | Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Peru:14 | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG

Company:

Sil-Metropole Organisation

Quotes:

Lawyer Wu:[subtitles] Qiu Ju, in civil and administrative lawsuits, the defendants aren't necessarily bad people.
Qiu Ju:Do good people sue each other?
Lawyer Wu:Of course!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Not One Less (1999)

Good, but far from my favorite Zhang Yimou (or Gong Li) film

Probably my least favorite Zhang Yimou film. Oh, it's not bad. It's pretty good, to tell the truth. But it's the kind of film where you get the point right away and you have to spend 100 minutes watching the filmmaker stumble toward the foregone conclusion. Gong Li plays the title character, a hugely pregnant woman. Her husband just got kicked in the nuts by their farming community's chief, and Qiu Ju wants an apology. Unfortunately, none of the officials she takes the case to can actually force the guy to apologize. 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. It's an amusing situation, but the film kind of plods along slowly. I won't demand Zhang Yimou stick to his wonderful visual talents, but it is disappointing how mundane this film looks and feels. The worst crime perhaps is that Gong Li isn't given much acting to do. 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. I just wasn't overly impressed with it, despite its obvious qualities.