Hibiscus Town

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Hibiscus Town
Directed by Xie Jin
Written by Ah Cheng
Xie Jin
Gu Hua (novel)
Starring Jiang Wen
Music by Ge Yan
Cinematography Lu Junfu
Release date(s) 1986
Running time 164 mins.
Language Mandarin
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese: 芙蓉镇
Traditional Chinese: 芙蓉鎮
Pinyin: Fú róng zhèn

Hibiscus Town is a 1986 Chinese film directed by Xie Jin, based on a novel by the same name written by Gu Hua. The film, a melodrama, follows the life and travails of a young woman who lives through the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution and as such is an example of the "scar drama" genre that emerged in the 1980s and 1990s that detailed life during that period. The film was produced by the Shanghai Film Studio.

Contents

[edit] Cast

  • Liu Xiaoqing as Hu Yuyin, the film's heroine, a young woman who is caught up in the political turmoil of China's Cultural Revolution
  • Liu Linian as Li Guigui, Yuyin's first husband
  • Jiang Wen as Qin Shutian, a "bourgeoisie" rightist who falls in love with Yuyin

[edit] Plot

The film follows Hu Yuyin (Liu Xiaoqing), a young woman in a small Chinese town who prior to the Cultural Revolution is happily married and runs a successful roadside food stall. With the coming of political turmoil, however, she is found to be a "rich peasant." Both her home and business are taken from her and her husband, Li Guigui (Liu Linian) committs suicide in despair.

After the first waves of the Revolution have ended, Yuyin returns to the town, now relegated to a lowly street sweeper. She then falls in love with another former "bad element", Qin Shutian (Jiang Wen. After becoming pregnant, however, even this seemingly innocent relationship attracts the outrage of local party members.

[edit] Reception

[edit] Awards

[edit] Further reading

  • Browne, Nick. "Society and Subjectivity: On the Political Economy of Chinese Melodrama," in New Chinese Cinemas: Forms, Identities, Politics. Cambridge: CUP, 1994, 57-87.
  • Hayford, Charles W. "Hibiscus Town: Revolution, Love and Bean Curd." In Chris Berry, ed., Chinese Films in Focus: 25 New Takes. London: BFI Publishing, 2003, 120-27.
  • Kipnis, Andrew. "Anti-Maoist Gender: Hibiscus Town's Naturalization of a Dengist Sex/Gender/Kinship System." Asian Cinema 8, 2 (Winter 1996-97): 66-75.


[edit] See also

[edit] External links


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