CHAI Lounge at CHAI Living Gallery, 370 Beisuzhou Lu, near Henan Lu

北苏州路370号，近河南路

Director: Zhang Yimou

Starring: Gong Li, Li Baotian

Running time: 95 mins

Starring Gong Li and Li Baotian, the film is set in a dyeing mill in  "a small village somewhere in China in the 1920's" and tells a tale of doomed love within the brutal realities of rural life.  The first Chinese film to be nominated for an Academy Award it was banned in China but set Zhang on course for international acclaim. As one of his early films it provides an interesting contrast to his now politically acceptable works and reminds us of the key features that made him so distinctive as a director.

RSVP: filmclub@royalasiaticsociety.org.cn  

Suggested price: 20 RMB members, 50 RMB non-members