| Xun Zhou | ... | Little Chinese Seamstress | |
| Ye Liu | ... | Ma | |
| Kun Chen | ... | Luo | |
| Shuangbao Wang | ... | Head of the Village | |
| Zhijun Cong | ... | Old Tailor | |
| Hongwei Wang | ... | Four Eyes | |
| Xiong Xiao | ... | Mother of Four Eyes | |
| Zuohui Tang | ... | Old Mill Worker | |
| Wei Chen | ... | Wife of the Head of the Village | |
| Tianlu Chen | ... | Director of the Commune | |
| Qing-yun Fan | ... | Doctor | |
| Jie Min | ... | Peasant | |
| He Zhang | ... | Peasant | |
| Yukun Xu | ... | Peasant | |
| Lina Mei | ... | Female Villager | |
| Jing Fang | ... | Female Villager | |
| Li Peng | ... | Female Villager | |
| Heng Fei Zhao | ... | Female Villager | |
| Yao Liu | ... | Female Villager | |
| Yulin Chen | ... | Female Villager | |
| Chun Hua Xu | ... | Female Villager | |
| Fang Zong Zhao | ... | Female Villager | |
| Wa Su | ... | Daughter in Law of the Head of the Village | |
| Quilène Boileux | ... | Airport Shop Assistant | |
| Dandan Yang | ... | Mrs. Lao | |
| Guy-Pierre Bennet | ... | Journalist (voice) |
Directed by | |||
| Sijie Dai | |||
Writing credits(in alphabetical order) | ||
| Sijie Dai | novel | |
| Sijie Dai | screenplay | |
| Nadine Perront | ||
Produced by | |||
| Lise Fayolle | .... | producer | |
| Bernard Lorain | .... | executive producer | |
| Pujian Wang | .... | executive producer | |
| Wang Zhebin | .... | executive producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Pujian Wang | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Jean-Marie Dreujou | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Luc Barnier | |||
| Julia Gregory | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Juiping Cao | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Huamiao Tong | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Guihua Cheng | .... | hair stylist | |
Production Management | |||
| Zi An | .... | unit manager: Shanghai | |
| Fanny Bourdillon | .... | unit manager | |
| Lewu Chen | .... | unit manager | |
| Boutboul Déborah | .... | unit manager | |
| Xiong Jiang | .... | unit manager: Shanghai | |
| Shenlin Li | .... | unit manager | |
| Benoît Ouvrier-Bonnaz | .... | unit manager | |
| Zhong Yuan Qian | .... | unit manager | |
| Yulong Shen | .... | unit manager: Shanghai | |
| Roland Thénot | .... | unit manager | |
| Jing-Hua Wang | .... | unit manager | |
| Qiang Wang | .... | unit manager | |
| Dong Lai Wei | .... | unit manager: Shanghai | |
| Hong Wu | .... | unit manager | |
| Chenhao Yu | .... | unit manager | |
| Jun Zhao | .... | production manager | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Jen Chang Hsien | .... | assistant director | |
| Guang Li | .... | assistant director | |
| Charles Liu Morel | .... | assistant director | |
| Chunlin Zhao | .... | assistant director | |
Art Department | |||
| Baihan Hui | .... | set dresser | |
| Jian-An Lu | .... | set dresser | |
| Hailiang Luo | .... | set dresser | |
| Ying Ma | .... | assistant art director | |
| Zhang Tian | .... | props | |
| Zhuangchun Wu | .... | props | |
| Jian Qun Zhang | .... | assistant art director | |
Sound Department | |||
| Jean-Philippe Callet | .... | sound recordist | |
| Jean De Sagey | .... | foley recordist | |
| Franck Desmoulins | .... | ProTools consultant | |
| Rodolphe Duhamel | .... | sound recordist | |
| Li Pei Gen | .... | assistant sound | |
| Benjamin Leloch | .... | sound recordist (as Benjamin Le Loch) | |
| François Lepeuple | .... | foley artist | |
| Sylvain Malbrant | .... | assistant sound editor | |
| Olivier Marlangeon | .... | foley artist | |
| Michel Monier | .... | stereo sound consultant: Dolby | |
| Nicolas Naegelen | .... | sound mixer | |
| Nicolas Naegelen | .... | sound | |
| Daniel Sobrino | .... | sound | |
| Zhe Wang | .... | assistant sound | |
| Li Wen | .... | assistant sound | |
| Lala Wu | .... | sound | |
| Xin Zhan | .... | sound | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Stephane Bidault | .... | digital effects supervisor | |
| Pierre Blain | .... | digital effects director | |
| Marc-André Brunet | .... | visual effects | |
| Christophe Chanvin | .... | artistic director | |
| Alain Fauchon | .... | optical transfer | |
| Matthias Weber | .... | visual effects | |
Stunts | |||
| Hui Xie | .... | stunt double: swimming | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Te Ba | .... | grip | |
| Paul-Claude Bessière | .... | key grip | |
| Renaud Chassaing | .... | first assistant camera | |
| Dong Cong | .... | electrician | |
| Zhang Dahai | .... | electrician | |
| Zhao Danyang | .... | electrician | |
| Luo Dong | .... | still photographer | |
| Wei Guo Dong | .... | generator operator | |
| Zhang Fengzhu | .... | grip | |
| Patrick Gasché | .... | electrician | |
| Liu Guangshun | .... | grip | |
| Pei Luo | .... | video assistant | |
| Michele Mattei | .... | special photographer (as Michèle Mattei) | |
| Yang Ning | .... | assistant Steadicam operator | |
| Hong Peng | .... | second assistant camera | |
| Jean-Claude Reux | .... | gaffer | |
| Chen Zhu Xiang | .... | Steadicam operator | |
| Niu Yi | .... | electrician | |
| Lu Zhixin | .... | electrician | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Zhigang Chen | .... | dresser | |
| Huani Tong | .... | dresser | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Fleur Augustin | .... | assistant editor | |
| Fabrice Dequeant | .... | color timer | |
| Nicolas Duchemin | .... | assistant editor | |
| Zoé Forget | .... | post-production coordinator | |
| Alice Godeau | .... | assistant editor | |
Music Department | |||
| Ya Dai | .... | musician: flute | |
| Can Gao | .... | musician: violin | |
| Zhang Gaoxiang | .... | musician: dulcimer | |
| Xiaopei Li | .... | music recordist | |
| Pujian Wang | .... | conductor | |
| Jie Min Yan | .... | musician: Chinese violin | |
Other crew | |||
| Tony Krantz | .... | press attache | |
| Latifa Laarcy | .... | administrator | |
| Li Liang | .... | translator | |
| Luc Oeuvray | .... | administrator | |
| Laurent Renard | .... | press attache | |
| Rafael Schneider | .... | making-of director | |
| Dominique Segall | .... | press attache | |
| Guixin Zhai | .... | administrator | |
| Xia Zhao | .... | script supervisor | |
Thanks | |||
| Georges Beaume | .... | thanks | |
| Guy-Pierre Bennet | .... | thanks | |
| Prune Bergé | .... | thanks | |
| Dominique Besnehard | .... | thanks | |
| Florence Bitoun | .... | thanks | |
| Jacques Bitoun | .... | thanks | |
| Jean-François Boyer | .... | thanks | |
| Valérie Boyer | .... | thanks | |
| Zouhua Chen | .... | thanks | |
| Brahim Chioua | .... | thanks | |
| Jean-Marie Duchemin | .... | thanks | |
| Sylvie El Sayegh | .... | thanks | |
| Joy Fleury | .... | thanks | |
| Danièle Heymann | .... | thanks | |
| Guy Joussemet | .... | thanks | |
| Monique Kouznekzoff | .... | thanks (as Monique Kouznetzoff) | |
| Tony Krantz | .... | thanks | |
| Anne Kuperberg | .... | thanks | |
| Pierre Kuperberg | .... | thanks | |
| Didier Kustinger | .... | thanks | |
| Archie Larochie | .... | thanks (as Archie Laroche) | |
| Xin-Min Long | .... | thanks | |
| Yong Luo | .... | thanks | |
| Zitian Luo | .... | thanks | |
| Denis Offroy | .... | thanks | |
| Isabelle Peyrefitte | .... | thanks | |
| Bernard Pivot | .... | special thanks | |
| Marie-Françoise Rousset-Rouard | .... | thanks | |
| Yves Rousset-Rouard | .... | thanks | |
| Jean-Marie Sénia | .... | thanks | |
| Anna Maria Tatò | .... | thanks | |
| Perrine Tézé | .... | thanks | |
| Shi Zhao | .... | thanks | |
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Biography section | IMDb France section |
"Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (Xiao cai feng)" raises the awkward situation of commenting on a semi-autobiographical story which was originally written, then adapted and directed by the person who lived it in the same, beautiful locations where the events that inspired Sijie Dai took place. How much is fiction and how much is docu-drama? And I haven't read the book so I don't know how much he changed.
The basics of the story would seem like a 1940's sci fi allegory of a totalitarian, anti-intellectual society if the Cultural Revolution under the here ubiquitously revered ruler Mao Tse Tung hadn't actually happened, with its anti-literate class-based revenge of kicking the children of the perceived elite out of the cities to rural areas for re-education at rigorous manual labor. In outline, his story is like a real life "Fahrenheit 451" and "the Little Seamstress," the teen ager, played charmingly by Xun Zhou, who gets caught up in a triangle between the out-of-towners, like "Ninotchka." She, startlingly, has far more ambition than the loyal peasant girl in "The Road Home."
So it's hard to tell if the strong condescension in the tone to the local peasantry is what the two young men finally learn to overcome or is somewhat shown to be just as endemic in the Communist Party as is seen at the end they were suppressing the beauty of local traditions almost as much as intellectual influences. Because the premise that transforming aesthetics can only come from outside influences through movies, fashion and Western literature and music just seems anthropologically naive as they poke fun at and trick the locals. We do see that the peasants appreciate story telling, sewing and songs - but only of the most earthy kind until the re-educated sneak in their experiences, disguised as homages to Lenin or Mao. For example, with the almost universality of stringed instruments in human culture, it's hard to believe that peasants would be that skeptical when first exposed to a violin.
The film is at its strongest, and loveliest, when it sticks to the personal relationships that result from contacts with the locals, as human nature is more powerful than ideology and youth is simply irrepressible and non-Orwellian. The romantic triangle plays out beautifully and gently demonstrates male instincts for Pygmalion control, irrespective of politics. The story affirms the Law of Unintended Consequences, heavily symbolized at the end with the coming of a dam on the river that will have the same effect on these towns as the TVA had on now forgotten communities in Appalachia.
This tender and poignant nostalgia is a chronological and thematic prequel to the less optimistic "The World (Shijie)" in showing the impact of globalization on China and its people.