DVD Review: The Story of Qiu Ju

DVD Reviews

By Jeff Swindoll Mar 24, 2006, 13:16 GMT

“Will the right thing be done?”

The cover of the DVD proclaims from the director of House of Flying Daggers, but viewers expecting a wire-fu epic will be greatly disappointed. This film was made in 1992 and is just now receiving a DVD release, possibly because of House of Flying Daggers or because Gong Li was just in Memoirs of a Geisha. The story of Qiu Ju stars Gong Li as a very pregnant Qiu Ju. Ju’s husband has been kicked in the privates by the village chief (think mayor), however, we never see this offense. If this act was not bad enough, the chief refuses to apologize for the offense. Ju’s family raises chilies and wanted to build a shed. It seems, me not being familiar with Chinese way of life, that it takes quite a number of permits to build a shed. Ju’s family has been waiting awhile for materials and all the permissions to build the shed. When all is about to happen the chief interferes and Ju’s husband insults the chief. He says that the chief can only raise hens. The chief takes offense at this because he only has daughters and no male heirs so he kicks him in the privates. Ju takes her husband to the larger next village to the local doctor and brings the medical report to the chief. The chief refuses to apologize. Offended Ju then heads back to the next village to talk to the local constabulary. The officer intervenes on Ju’s part and get the chief to pay 200 yuan for the offense.

Be careful what you ask for

However, when the officer leaves the chief drops the 10 - 20 Yuan bills so that Ju will have to bow 10 times to him to get the money. Ju refuses to pick up the money and returns to the officer. The officer talks to the chief, but the chief still refuses to apologize. An appeal is sent to the district court. The court finds no wrongdoing on either part, but orders the chief to pay 250 yuan for the medical bills and offense.The officer tries to give Ju’s family some gifts saying that they’re an “apology” from the chief to smooth things over. When Ju finds out that the officer really bought them she returns them. The chief agrees to pay, but again refuses to apologize. Ju is not satisfied and decides to go to the city to the higher court. This adventure to the city is where a little comedy comes in. Ju and her husband’s sister are ripped off by a taxi driver who charges too much to take them to a hotel. A kind lady tells them that they too obviously look like they’re from the country and that people know that they’re easily fooled. Ju buys some city clothes that basically make them look even more awkward. Ju again takes her case to a higher court and eventually has to get a lawyer.Will Ju ever get the apology? What happens when Ju’s pregnancy goes wrong and the only person who can help is the chief, will he hold the court cases against her? I guess you’ll have to watch and find out. The Story of Qiu Ju is presented in widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. There are no special features, not even a trailer. In fact, the main menu only offers play movie, subtitles, and scene selections.

Country rubes

The Story of Qiu Ju is slow in some places, this is the Chinese judicial system after all, but is a good movie. Viewers expecting a firey court drama will be disappointed. It’s more of a “be careful what you ask for” fable. Definitely give it a rental if you want to see a different side of director Zhang Yimou or are a fan of Gong Li. The Story of Qiu Ju is available for pre-order at Amazon for a March 28th release. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.

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