The Chinese Botanist's Daughters (2006)
"Les filles du botaniste" (original title)

At the house of a famous Chinese botanist teacher his daughter and a female intern fall in love with each other - a forbidden love that must be kept secret.

Director:

Sijie Dai

Writers:

Sijie Dai, Nadine Perront

Stars:

Mylène Jampanoï, Xiao Ran Li, Ling Dong Fu

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Mylène Jampanoï	...	Min Li
Xiao Ran Li	...	An Chen
Ling Dong Fu	...	Mr. Chen
Wei-chang Wang	...	Dan
Nhu Quynh Nguyen	...	La directrice de l'orphelinat
Nguyen Van Quang	...	Maître Wang
Linh Thj Bich Thu	...	La femme en cuisine
Phuong-Thanh	...	La vendeuse de journaux
Tuo Jilin	...	Le juge
Dinh Xuang Tung	...	Policier 1
Vuong Trach Vu	...	Police 3
Drieu Van Chau	...	La serveuse du restaurant
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chu Hung	...	Man Cage
Yang Jun	...	Bird-catcher
Lê Tung Linh	...	Man Dormitory

Storyline

Min Li, a trainee botanist is taken in by An's father. In such a beautiful, but lonely setting where the two are treated badly by the few men they communicate with, the women form a bond which quickly turns to unspeakable love. In a swirl of forbidden passion, love and opiate-induced intoxication they find themselves confronted with a society who will not accept same-sex love, a crime punishable by death.

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Plot Keywords:

botanist | forbidden love | death | intern | horticulture | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Europa Corp. [France]

Country:

France Canada

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

26 April 2006 (France)

Also Known As:

A Filha do Botânico

Filming Locations:

Hanoi, Vietnam

Box Office

Budget:

€5,300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fayolle et Sotela Films, EuropaCorp, Max Films Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Chinoiserie customized for Western tastes

With "Balzac and the little seamstress" Dai Sijie delivered a nice period piece with some interesting reflections on the importance of literature, moving images and theatre. Although a large part of the crew were French, it had a real Chinese feel to it. That feeling is totally absent from Les filles du botaniste. One gets the impression it has been made to order, to cater to the European market. There's hardly any Chinese name on the credit roll, if they're not French they're Vietnamese. The story could have been powerful but has been diluted by its cliché approach and its David Hamilton-esquire photography. In addition, I got completely disoriented by the Vietnamese setting. The worst mismatch was the temple. It was so blatantly a Vietnamese, not a Chinese temple. And using Ho Guom Lake right in the middle of Old Hanoi was not a wise decision. There were plenty of other lakes to choose from, while the urban setting of Ho Guom made it hard to forget we were not supposed to be in 2006. The mountain landscape in the movie is similar to the karst rocks in southern China, so no problem with that. I even wonder if the Kunlin in the film is not meant to be a combination of Kunming and Guilin. Still, I felt cheated by this movie. It is as if the makers are not taking the public serious. It was the same with Memoirs of a Geisha, another Eastern tale made consumable to Western tastes, with 3 very Chinese actresses trying to be Japanese and failing. But hey, who cares? If it has slanted eyes it's all the same, no? One of the commentators to Memoirs of a Geisha was calling it neo-colonialism. I think the same could be said of these Filles.