Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersSundance Film FestivalIndependent Spirit AwardsBlack History MonthSXSWSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Original title: Xiao cai feng
  • 20022002
  • 1h 50m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
4.5K
YOUR RATING
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002)
BiographyDramaRomance
Two youths sent for a Maoist "re-education" in the mountains fall in love with the village tailor's granddaughter.Two youths sent for a Maoist "re-education" in the mountains fall in love with the village tailor's granddaughter.Two youths sent for a Maoist "re-education" in the mountains fall in love with the village tailor's granddaughter.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
4.5K
YOUR RATING
    • Sijie Dai
    • Sijie Dai(novel)
    • Nadine Perront
  • Stars
    • Xun Zhou
    • Kun Chen
    • Ye Liu
    • Sijie Dai
    • Sijie Dai(novel)
    • Nadine Perront
  • Stars
    • Xun Zhou
    • Kun Chen
    • Ye Liu
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 47User reviews
    • 61Critic reviews
    • 65Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Photos

    Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002)
    Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002)
    Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002)
    Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Xun Zhou
    Xun Zhou
    • Little Chinese Seamstress
    Kun Chen
    Kun Chen
    • Luo
    Ye Liu
    Ye Liu
    • Ma
    Shuangbao Wang
    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
      • Sijie Dai
      • Sijie Dai(novel) (screenplay)
      • Nadine Perront
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Shower
    7.5
    Shower
    Bad Guy
    6.6
    Bad Guy
    The Isle
    6.9
    The Isle
    Painted Skin
    6.3
    Painted Skin
    Farinelli
    6.8
    Farinelli
    Nuan
    7.1
    Nuan
    The Marquise of O
    7.0
    The Marquise of O
    Connected
    6.6
    Connected
    Youth
    7.0
    Youth
    Un Coeur en Hiver
    7.6
    Un Coeur en Hiver
    Curse of the Golden Flower
    7.0
    Curse of the Golden Flower
    Raise the Red Lantern
    8.1
    Raise the Red Lantern

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Filming was allowed in China after seven months negotiations with the authorities, but any projection on Chinese territory was banned.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2003)
    • Soundtracks
      Divertissement
      K334

      Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    User reviews47

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    Adorable Poetic Love Story in Times of Changing
    In 1971, in the China of Mao Tse Tung, the two university students Luo (Kun Chen) and Ma (Ye Liu) are sent to a mountain mining village with very ignorant peasants and also a Maoist rehabilitation camp, to be reeducated. Both fall in love for the illiterate granddaughter of the local tailor, called "little seamstress". They become friends, and Luo and Ma steal forbidden books of western literature, and while they read the books and teach the little seamstress, they also tell the story to the community and play classical music in the violin, developing and improving their lives.

    What a magnificent and beautiful movie is "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress". In a wonderful landscape with stunning scenery, this revolutionary love story about the importance of books to improve the life of people is very believable and I am not sure whether it is based on a true story. I regret that the DVD released in Brazil by Europa distributor has interviews with the cast and director spoken in Mandarin and without subtitles. My vote is ten.

    Title (Brazil): "Balzac e a Costureirinha Chinesa" ("Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress")
    helpful•16
    2
    • claudio_carvalho
    • Oct 24, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 9, 2002 (France)
      • France
      • China
      • Empire Pictures (United States)
      • Mandarin
      • French
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Fenghuan, Hunan, China
    • Production companies
      • Les Productions Internationales Le Film
      • StudioCanal
      • France 3 Cinéma
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 50 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.