Underplayed Gems

Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (1998)

Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl poster
Original title
Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl
Directed by
Joan Chen
Genre
drama film
Country
People's Republic of China
Runtime
1h 39m
Rated
18
Rating
7.2 of 10 from 50 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A teenage girl is sent to a remote grassland in Tibet during the Cultural Revolution to learn from nomadic herders. She tries to find a way home but faces hardship and exploitation.

melancholicslow-burnbleakvisually lushintimatelonelyunsettlingpoignant

What happens

Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (Chinese: 天浴; pinyin: Tiān Yù; lit. 'Celestial Bath') is a 1998 Chinese drama film directed by Joan Chen in her directorial debut, who co-wrote the screenplay with Geling Yan. Based on Yan's 1981 short story "Celestial Bath", the film is set in the 1970s during the Cultural Revolution's Down to the Countryside Movement in People's Republic of China. The film stars Li Xiaolu as the titular character, with Lobsang Chompel also starring. The film premiered at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival and collected top prizes from various film festivals. It was released in the United States on May 7, 1999. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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