2 Movies Directed by Sijie Dai

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2002-10-09

Languages:

Mandarin, French

Countries:

France, China

Runtime:

110 min

IMDB Ratings:

7.2 (3678 Reviews)

Director:

Sijie Dai

Cast:

Writer:

Sijie Dai (novel)

Sijie Dai (screenplay)

Nadine Perront

Fullplot:

In 1971 China, in the lingering grip of the cultural revolution, two university students, Luo and Ma, are sent to a mountain mining village as part of their reeducation duty to purge them of their classical western oriented education. Amid the backbreaking work and stifling ignorance of the community, the two boys find that music, and the presence of the beautiful local young women are the only pleasant things in their miserable life. However, none compare to the young seamstress granddaughter of the local tailor. Stealing a departing student's secret cache of forbidden books of classic western literature such as the works of Honore de Balzac, they set about to woo her and teach her things she had never imagined. In doing so, they start a journey that would profoundly change her perspective on her world and teach the boys about the power of literature and their own ability to change their world in truly revolutionary ways.

The Chinese Botanist's Daughters

The Chinese Botanist's Daughters

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2006-04-26

Languages:

Mandarin

Countries:

France, Canada

Runtime:

105 min

IMDB Ratings:

6.7 (1806 Reviews)

Director:

Sijie Dai

Genres:

DramaRomance

Fullplot:

Min Li, a trainee botanist is taken in by An's father. In such a beautiful, but lonely setting where the two are treated badly by the few men they communicate with, the women form a bond which quickly turns to unspeakable love. In a swirl of forbidden passion, love and opiate-induced intoxication they find themselves confronted with a society who will not accept same-sex love, a crime punishable by death.

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