The Story of Qiu Ju

Infobox Film | name = The Story of Qiu Ju


caption =
director = Zhang Yimou
producer = Feng Yiting
Fung Kwok Ma
writer = Chen Yuanbin (novella)
Liu Heng
starring = Gong Li
music = Zhao Jiping
cinematography = Chi Xiaoning
Lu Hongyi
Yu Xiaoquin
editing = Du Yuan
distributor = Sony Pictures Classics
released = Venice:
September 1992
United States:
April 16, 1993
runtime = 110 min.
language = Mandarin
budget =
imdb_id = 0105197
amg_id = 1:121848

"The Story of Qiu Ju" (zh-cpl|c=|p=Qiū Jú dǎ guān sī|l=Qiu Ju goes to court) is a 1992 Chinese comedy-drama film. The film was directed by Zhang Yimou and, as in many of his films, stars Gong Li in the title role. The screenplay is an adaption of Chen Yuanbin's novella "The Wan Family's Lawsuit".

The film tells the story of a peasant woman, Qiu Ju, who lives in a rural area of China. When her husband is kicked in the groin by the village head, Qiu Ju, despite her pregnancy, travels to a nearby town, and later a big city to deal with its bureaucrats and find justice.

The film was a hit at film festivals and won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival in 1992.

Plot

Qiu Ju is a peasant who lives in a small farming enclave with her husband Qinglai, his sister and their father. She is in the final trimester of her first pregnancy. One day while her husband is conversing to Wang Shantang, the head of the community, a miscommunication ensues. Qinglai's comment that Shantang "only breeds hens", was misconstrued to reflect on a perceived inability of the chieftain to produce a son (he has two or three daughters). The minor municipality leader is insulted by this inference and beats Qinglai, kicking him so severely in the groin that he must see a doctor and remain absent from his work.

Because of this injustice, Qiu Ju sets forth to extract an explanation from Wang Shantang, one in which the village head is unwilling to supply. Qiu Ju becomes determined to 'right' the 'wrong' and establishes contact with officials from the nearest small town. As the case is mediated and re-mediated (at her insistence) by the government bureaucracy, it is never resolved to Qiu Ju's satisfaction.

DVD release

"The Story of Qiu Ju" has been released several times on DVD. In the United States, the first release on Region 1 DVD was by Columbia/TriStar Studio on July 20, 2000.

More recently, the film was re-released by Sony Pictures Classics as part of their Zhang Yimou (which also included new versions of "Ju Dou" and "Raise the Red Lantern") on March 28, 2006. Both versions include subtitles in English.

An older VHS cassette version of the film was also released in the United States by Sony Pictures on January 17, 1995.

Awards and nominations

* Venice Film Festival, 1992
** Golden Lion
** OCIC Award - Honorable Mention
** Volpi Cup — Best Actress, Gong Li
* Vancouver International Film Festival, 1992
** Most Popular Film
* Changchun Film Festival, 1992
** Golden Deer
* Golden Rooster Awards, 1993
** Best Actress — Gong Li
** Best Film
* Hundred Flowers Awards, 1993
** Best Film
* French Syndicate of Cinema Critics, 1993
** Critics Award — Best Foreign Film, Zhang Yimou
* Independent Spirit Awards, 1994
** Best Foreign Film — Zhang Yimou
* National Society of Film Critics Awards, 1994
** Best Foreign Language Film

External links

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title=Golden Lion winner
years=1992
before="Urga"
after="Short Cuts" tied with
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