Xiao cai feng (2002)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Sijie Dai

Writers:

Sijie Dai (novel)
Sijie Dai (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

9 October 2002 (France)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Two youths sent for a Maoist "re-education" in the mountains fall in love with the village tailor's granddaughter.

Plot Keywords:

Mountain | Book | Tailor | Literature | Village

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 5 nominations

Cast

Xun Zhou	...	Little Chinese Seamstress
Kun Chen	...	Luo
Ye Liu	...	Ma
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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Guy-Pierre Bennet	...	Journalist (voice)
Quilène Boileux	...	Airport Shop Assistant
Yulin Chen	...	Female Villager
Jing Fang	...	Female Villager
Yao Liu	...	Female Villager
Lina Mei	...	Female Villager
Jie Min	...	Peasant
Li Peng	...	Female Villager
Wa Su	...	Daughter in Law of the Head of the Village
Chun Hua Xu	...	Female Villager
Yukun Xu	...	Peasant
Dandan Yang	...	Mrs. Lao
He Zhang	...	Peasant
Fang Zong Zhao	...	Female Villager
Heng Fei Zhao	...	Female Villager

Directed by
Sijie Dai

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sijie Dai		novel
Sijie Dai		screenplay
Nadine Perront		writer

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 Monnier	....	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

Production Companies

• Canal+ (participation)
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) (participation)
• China Film (collaboration)
• Forbidden City Studios (collaboration)
• France 3 Cinéma (co-production)
• Les Films de la Suane
• Les Productions Internationales Le Film
• Philippe Rousselet (in association with)
• Studio Canal (co-production)
• TF1 Films Production

Distributors

• Empire Pictures (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Empire Pictures (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Ager 3 (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Albatros Film
• Art Films (2004) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Arthaus (2004) (Norway) (theatrical)
• Bac Films (France)
• Best Film CO (2003) (Poland) (theatrical)
• Consórcio Europa Severiano Ribeiro (200?) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Empire Pictures Inc. (2005) (USA) (all media)
• Evgueni Kondratenko (2006) (Ukraine) (theatrical)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2002) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Filmladen (2004) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Films de l'Elysée, Les (2003) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• First Run Features (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2004) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Hopscotch Entertainment (2003) (New Zealand) (theatrical)
• Intercinema Art Agency (Russia)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Les Films Séville (2002) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Media Asia Group (2003) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• Millennium Storm (2004) (Italy) (video)
• New Select (2003) (Japan) (theatrical)
• New Vision Film Distribution (2003) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Noah Communication (2002) (Israel) (theatrical)
• Optimum Home Entertainment (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Quality Films (2003) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Schwarz/Weiss Filmverleih (2003) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Soda Pictures (UK)
• Sunrise Film Distribution (2004) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• TF1 Films International (2002) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• Television Inc. (????) (Romania) (TV)
• Telexcel (2003-????) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Videodis (200?) (France) (DVD)
• Vértigo Films (2002) (Spain) (theatrical)
• YLE Teema (2007) (Finland) (TV)

Special Effects

• AutreChose

Other Companies

• Assurances Continentales, Les  insurance
• Beijing Ltd.  lighting
• CCTV Studio  music recorded at
• Cinerent  lighting (as Cinérent)
• Excalibur  titles
• Hôtel Long Quian, Zhang Jiajia, Hunan  thanks
• J.C.R.  lighting
• Kodak  film stock
• Les Audis de Joinville  sound re-recording
• Les Productions Internationales Le Film  music publisher
• Les habitants de la commune Daping de Zhan  thanks
• Panavision France  camera equipment provided by
• Polyson  sound post-production
• Titra Film Paris  subtitles
• Transpalux  lighting
• Unimage  editorial facilities
• Virgin Records  soundtrack
• Warmflash Productions Ltd.  trailer

Also Known As:

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (UK) (USA)
Balzac et la petite tailleuse chinoise (France)
The Little Chinese Seamstress (International: English title)

Runtime:

110 min | France:116 min (Cannes Film Festival)

Country:

France | China

Language:

Mandarin | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Norway:11 | Philippines:PG-13 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Fenghuan, Hunan, China

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

Filming was allowed in China after seven months negotiations with the authorities, but any projection on Chinese territory was banned.

Soundtrack:

Divertissement

It sure looks ironic to need a movie, to remind you that a world without books is a prison for your mind.

Balzac and the little Chinese seamstress is one of those movies, you're glad you caught at your local cinema, even though you never originally planned to see it. Because it's one of those movies that remind you there's more to cinema than just Hollywood-Blockbuster formula stuff, and if you already knew that, than there's even more than your usual 'trying to hard to be arthouse cinema' stuff.

Sounds like high praise? Don't get me wrong here. I gave it a 6 out of 10 (though it pushes hard for a 7). The story is based on a book of a Chinese author, living in France. And maybe that is, why it worked. On the one side you have a Chinese setting, Chinese actors and a the background of Chinese communism in the seventies, on the other side you have a story you can culturally relate to without being Chinese (or even knowing much about Chinese history or culture (and that doesn't leave a universal love story as the only option you sugarcoated romance freaks)). Take both together and you have an utterly satisfying movie-experience.

The one thing, that's strange though is the fact that it's about the value of books. It sure looks ironic to need a movie, to remind you that a world without books is a prison for your mind. Hmmm! Okay, maybe I'll change my vote to a 7. And now let me continue to read...