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The Arch with Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl
Sun, Nov 27 | 2pm | TMT
The Arch
Lisa Lu’s first Hollywood role was as a bar girl in China Doll (1958). Frustrated with typecast- ing, Lu travelled to Hong Kong for The Arch , portraying a woman in 1700s China confined by rules of chastity. The film was made by one of Hong Kong’s earliest female directors, Tang Shu Shuen, and considered the region’s first art film to reach international audiences. Mixing naturalism with techniques like freeze frames and double exposures, the black-and- white film was co-edited by Les Blank and co-photographed by Satyajit Ray’s frequent cinematographer Subrata Mitra. The Arch launched Lu’s distinguished acting career in Asia, which then thrived transnationally in America ( The Last Emperor , The Joy Luck Club , Crazy Rich Asians ).
DIRECTOR: Tang Shu Shuen.
WRITTEN BY: Tang Shu Shuen.
STORY BY: Yutang Lin.
CAST: Lisa Lu, Roy Chiao, Hilda Chow Hsuan.
1968. 94 min. Hong Kong. B&W. Mandarin. Digital.
Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl
After her breakthrough appearance in Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor (1987), Joan Chen was offered parts that mainly exploited her ethnic allure. She recalled, “If I didn’t leave Hollywood, I would have never directed Xiu Xiu ”—and leave she did to direct and co-write Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl . The independently produced film centered on a young girl relocated to the countryside during China’s Cultural Revolution. Exquisitely shot on location in Tibet, Xiu Xiu won seven Golden Horse Awards, including director and writer nods for Chen.
DIRECTOR: Joan Chen.
WRITTEN BY: Joan Chen, Geling Yan.
CAST: Xiaolu Li, Lopsang, Zheng Qian, Jie Gao.
1998. 99 min. Hong Kong/USA/ Taiwan. Color. Mandarin. Rated R. 35mm.
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