Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl

Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl
Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl
	Theatrical release poster
Chinese	天浴
Mandarin	Tiān Yù
Directed by	Joan Chen
Screenplay by	Joan Chen; Geling Yan;
Based on	"Celestial Bath"; by Geling Yan
Produced by	Alice Chen; Joan Chen;
Starring	Li Xiaolu; Lopsang; Zheng Qian;
Cinematography	Lü Yue
Edited by	Ruby Yang
Music by	Johnny Chen
Production; companies	Good Machine; Whispering Steppes L.P.;
Release date	February 19, 1998 (Berlinale);
Running time	99 minutes
Country	China
Language	Mandarin
Box office	$1 million

Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (Chinese: 天浴; pinyin: Tiān Yù) 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.^[2] The film stars Li Xiaolu as the titular character, with Lopsang also starring.

Plot[]

Xiu Xiu (Chinese: 秀秀), a 15-year-old girl living in the city of Chengdu, is sent out to study horses in the countryside with a nomadic Tibetan. She is told that after six months, she will return to take charge of her all-girl cavalry unit. Her only friend is the eunuch horseman Lao Jin, who takes care of her while teaching her to herd horses. But after the six months are up, she quickly discovers that she is not allowed to return.

As Xiu Xiu loses hope, she falls for the lies of a peddler who tells her he can get her out of the place, but does not return after having sex with her. Her innocence is slowly corrupted by a stream of men who use her only for sex, barely keeping up the conceit by telling her that they are able to get her back to her hometown. Lao Jin, emasculated and docile, can only watch in sadness as Xiu Xiu loses hope in the system and in herself. She starts to believe the lies the men perfunctorily tell her, as she spitefully lectures Lao Jin that the men who come in the night and have their way with her are important men who can help her get back.

Xiu Xiu gets pregnant and goes for a traumatic abortion in the hospital. The female doctors gossip about her. After the operation, she is raped by one of the patients, a man who shot himself in the foot to get disability benefits in the state-controlled economy. Lao Jin gets angry and assaults the rapist, but is restrained by the other patients while the doctors make snide remarks about how Xiu Xiu enjoys being raped.

After Xiu recuperates, she tries to shoot herself in the foot so she can get sent back home, but cannot bring herself to pull the trigger. She asks Lao Jin to shoot her foot, then changes her mind and asks him to shoot her dead instead. He does so, then shoots himself and falls on her body so they can be finally together in death.

Reception[]

Distribution[]

The film was banned in China^[3] for sexual content.^{[citation needed]} The Chinese government claims to have approved the script and states it was banned only after the filmmakers decided not to wait for permits before shooting in Tibet.^{[citation needed]}

Awards and nominations[]

Golden Horse Awards

1998: won for Best Film (Joan Chen)
1998: won for Best Director (Joan Chen)
1998: won for Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium (Joan Chen)
1998: won for Best Actress (Li Xiaolu)
1998: won for Best Actor (LupSang)

48th Berlin International Film Festival

1998: nominated for the Golden Bear^[4]

1998: won the Jury Award

Paris Film Festival

1999: won the Special Jury Prize
1999: nominated for the Grand Prize
1999: won Best Actress (Li Xiaolu)

1999: won the Grand Prize

National Board of Review

1999: won the International Freedom Award

Independent Spirit Awards

2000: nominated for Best First Feature Over $500,000 (Joan Chen, shared with co-producer Alice Chan Wai-Chung)

References[]

^ "Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo (IMDb). Retrieved February 19, 2020.
^ "Wettbewerb/In Competition". Moving Pictures, Berlinale Extra. Berlin: 37. 11–22 February 1998.
^ Green, Jonathon; Karolides, Nicholas J. (2005). Encyclopedia of Censorship. New York: Facts On File. p. 105. ISBN 9780816044641. OCLC 241302158 – via The Internet Archive.
^ "Berlinale: 1998 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2012-01-23.

External links[]

[1] "Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo (IMDb). Retrieved February 19, 2020.

[mov-2] "Wettbewerb/In Competition". Moving Pictures, Berlinale Extra. Berlin: 37. 11–22 February 1998.

[3] Green, Jonathon; Karolides, Nicholas J. (2005). Encyclopedia of Censorship. New York: Facts On File. p. 105. ISBN 9780816044641. OCLC 241302158 – via The Internet Archive.

[Berlinale-4] "Berlinale: 1998 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2012-01-23.

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