''She, a Chinese'' is a 2009

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...

drama film directed by

Xiaolu Guo Xiaolu Guo FRSL () born 20 November 1973) is a Chinese-born British novelist, memoirist and film-maker, who explores migration, alienation, memory, personal journeys, feminism, translation and transnational identities. Guo has directed a do ...

. Inspired by Jean-Luc Godard's

La Chinoise ''La Chinoise, ou plutôt à la Chinoise: un film en train de se faire'' (English: ''The Chinese, or, rather, in the Chinese manner: a film in the making''), commonly referred to simply as ''La Chinoise'', is a 1967 French political film directed b ...

, it portraits a fragmented journey of a young Chinese woman through the world. It won the 2009

Golden Leopard The Golden Leopard () is the top prize at the Locarno International Film Festival, an international film festival held annually in Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. Directors in the process of getting an international reputation are allowed to be ...

at the Locarno Film Festival.

Plot

In 12 chapters, Mei escapes from her village in Sichuan province to a big city. She moves from job to job, man to man, and reaches the UK. She wanders in the streets. The sea is calling her. She gazes at the other side of the water as if towards her younger self.

Filming

The film was shot in Chongqing, China, in London, and on the coast of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

in eastern England.

Cast

Huang Lu Huang Lu () (born July 10, 1983) is a Chinese actress. A graduate of the Beijing Film Academy Beijing Film Academy (BFA; ) is a coeducational state-run higher education institution in Beijing, China. The film school is the largest institutio ...

- Li Mei * Wei Yi Bo - 'Spikey' *

Geoffrey Hutchings Geoffrey Hutchings (8 June 1939 – 1 July 2010) was an English stage, film and television actor. Early life and career Hutchings was born in Dorchester, Dorset, England. After attending Hardye's School, he studied French and Physical Educati ...

- Geoffrey Hunt * Chris Ryman - Rachid * Hsinyi Liu - London Tour Guide

Release

It was released by StudioCanal UK (formerly Optimum Releasing) and the Channel 4. The film was premiered at the Locarno Film Festival as well as

Toronto Film Festival Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

2009 with positive reviews.

References

External links

* * *www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/chinese-film-review-93419/ {{Golden Leopard 2009 drama films 2009 films Films directed by Xiaolu Guo