A pregnant peasant woman seeks redress from the Chinese bureaucracy after the village chief kicks her husband in the groin in this comedy of justice. As she is frustrated by each level of the hierarchy and travels farther and farther away from the countryside the viewer is also provided with a look at the changing Chinese society through the verite camera used in most scenes.
Roger Ebert said "along the way we absorb more information about the lives of ordinary people in everyday China than in any other film I've seen." And really, this is the greatness of the film. The mixture of images of Mao with Western advertising and swimsuits. This is a time trapped partially in the 1950s, but also striving towards the 1990s. Whether the cultural influence is a good thing or not, it makes for a fascinating time capsule.
Roger Ebert said "along the way we absorb more information about the lives of ordinary people in everyday China than in any other film I've seen." And really, this is the greatness of the film. The mixture of images of Mao with Western advertising and swimsuits. This is a time trapped partially in the 1950s, but also striving towards the 1990s. Whether the cultural influence is a good thing or not, it makes for a fascinating time capsule.