Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl

This is a very powerful movie about a very important and real subject. It made its point very forcefully with the use of strong and explicit scenes that I'm afraid have been with me ever since I watched this movie and promise to appear in my mind day and night for quite some time. I hate to say that I wish I hadn't seen a well-made movie, but that is the case here. If you are very emotionally affected by movies like I am, I recommend that you pick up a good book about the history of sexual politics in China instead.

Xiu Xiu is a beautifully made movie in which Joan Chen combines sumptuous visual imagery, a beautiful, delicate musical score, fine performances by her actors and a spare and intelligent script to produce a simple, moving story of two lost lives.

The movement of the story from the dark confines of the tent Xiu Xiu and Lao Jin share to the almost limitless prairies and big skys of the Tibetan highlands follows the emotional pulse of the film. Expert camera work creates perspectives that sweep from the touchingly intimate to the overwhelmingly vast, exploring the characters from inside and out.

Wonderful, economical performances from newcomer Lu Lu and Tibetan stage veteran Lopsang give profound and touching insight into the extraordinariness of two ordinary people. Chen saves the story from descent into melodrama by a precise and thoughtful restraint that respects, observes, and never intrudes to seek to "explain" or apologize.

A film worth going out of one's way to see.

This movie is truly incredible on many fronts. Firstly, the story is incredibly moving and powerful, without any schmaltz and the heavy-handed preaching about who's "right" and who's "wrong" that most Hollywood films resort to. Most of the film examines the relationship between Xiu Xiu and the Tibetan herder she is forced to live with as part of her "re-education". The acting throughout is superb, with the two leads delivering subtle yet powerful performances. The photography and settings are breathtaking, and I didn't find the music intrusive at all...

I love this movie... It's such a sad film. It's sad enough to speak of love for such sad things. It starts off so pretty and happy. Such bright colors, pretty sky... then everything just changes. The colors never change, it is always pretty outside.. but the nights are what makes it sad. It made me feel angry of all the things that went wrong in this film... i wanted to be there, to help somehow... everything in this film is done so artisicly. The end of the movie is a perfect way to end sorrow. There is no better way to end something, than to simply end it. I recommend it to all who want to be touched. This is something that will never be done again. Nothing else like it. 10/10 for this one.

I just saw this video last night.I mostly enjoyed it. The two main characters are wonderful to watch. The scenery was beautiful. Most of it was very touching,but I would have been happier with less explicit sex scenes. This film definitly held my interest,even though you must read the subtitles. It is a very sad story on two levels.Because of the beautiful young girl's situation and because of her wonderful, but much older castrated mentor's love for her. After seeing "The Shower" and now this film, I am developing an appreciation and interest for Chinese films. For those who don't mind reading subtitles in a good foreign film, I don't think this will dissapoint many.