No, this is not a review. Sort of. I just had to let this out.
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| image courtesy of wikipedia.com |
There are only a handful of films that stirs just enough in me to write about them. And
The Story of Qiu Ju is a film that exactly does that. Directed by the masterful Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li as the lead role, the film is about a peasant woman’s struggle to find justice. The story starts out when the village chief wrongfully kicks Qiu Ju’s husband, Qing Lai, in the groins after a verbal altercation. After the chief refuses to admit his wrongdoing and give an apology, Qiu Ju, who is far along in her pregnancy, decides to seek justice. She goes into town with her little sister and appeals to the rural court regarding her problem. The court orders the chief to pay monetary compensation for the damage which he obligingly does so but still refuses to admit he was wrong. Not giving in and refusing the money, Qiu Ju then travels again to the city to appeal to a higher court only to be disappointed and to be given the same result as before. But this does not discourage her so again she comes down from her rural province into the big city, and with the advice of a good-natured magistrate, she hires a lawyer to formally press charges.
