Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

1971 sees Luo (Kun Chen) and Ma (Ye Liu), two youngsters sent to a mountain province in China to be re-educated in a Maoist rehab camp. There they run into the village's Little Seamstress (Xun Zhou) and cache of western literature. Amid the stunning mountain countryside, the two city lads grow fond of the seamstress and introduce her to the magic of books.

The film peeps into the insane world of Maoist China. It also highlights that even though Mao stopped a lot of things, he could not stop people from falling in love. Nor could he deny the power of literature. Books open doors that usually can never be shut and have to be ventured into.

Rating: * * *

Suzhou River

I have read many books that are written in the first person. But this is the first time I have seen a film that does the same. Suzhou River flows through Shanghai and its polluted hues forms the backdrop for this film. The story is told through some deft camera work and a narrator. The narrator tells us his story of love with an acting mermaid at a club while weaving through the cobwebs of his imagination. His imagination parallels the love in his life. A lovely phantasmagoria indeed...

Rating: * * +