Balzac And The Little Chinese Seamstress

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Balzac and The Little Chinese Seamstress (2002)

Synopsis

The film Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002) reviews the lives of two

youngsters in the early 1970s. The two individuals Luo and Ma are sent to a mountain village for

further studies in accordance with the Maoist principles. The need for them to be re-educated

resonates with the period of the Cultural Revolution in China at the time. The two young men

find work as peasants under the command of a headman in the village. He values the boys’ violin

as he regards it a symbol of individuals of the highest social class. Luo and Ma later find love in

the mountains. They both fall in love with a Chinese seamstress by the name Chung Zhijun. She

is the daughter of a tailor. The two boys appear rebellious against their traditions when they

become captivated by her banned works of literature from the west. They find interest in the

works of French writers, Dumas and Balzac as they are encouraged to denunciate the traditions

of communism. The film ends with a scene showing the two men reminiscing on their past after

30 years.

The Relationship of the scenes to the theme of friendship and language

The film starts with a clear depiction of the existent friendship between Luo and Ma.

They are close friends who have grown up together and seen their parents persevere public

humiliations at political rallies. Notably, they leave for reeducation to the mountain at the same

time. Notably, they appear to have spent quality time together. However, the relationship

between the young men appears complicated and questionable. Luo appears selfish and careless.

Ma navigates through diverse trials and tribulations in trying to uphold loyalty to his friend. Luo

seems a difficult person to love as he appears violent and selfish from diverse occasions, for

instance, in the scene of taking Balzac’s books from Four-Eye’ suitcase, he appears to be the one

making first dibs at all times.

Ma uses a language that tends to put other people first in any given conversation. Most of

the time, he rephrases his statements to affirm praises to those around him. In one of the scenes,

he rephrases a statement from “my oppressors” to “the Little Seamstress’s swarm of

disssapointed suitors.” In his language, he perpetrates a belief that his presence is unimportant in

relation with individuals within his vicinity. This appears to be his way of showing loyalty.

Ma’s loyalty appears threatened when Luo departs the mountain temporarily and gives

him the responsibility of protecting his Little Seamstress in his absentia. Ma loses control of the

fact that he normally hides his love for Luo’s girlfriend. He takes his physical portrayals of love

in language and other aspects of friendship and loyalty from Luo to the Little Seamstress. He

helps her with household duties and paints her fingernails. This is an act of service. As an adult

Mao learns to put more value on other peoples’ loyalty rather than being sufficient in what he

shows to others. As a spectator in his friend’s love affair, he learns that loyalty needs to be

radiated from both sides for attainability of equal friendship.

Scenes illustrating the relevant cultural interactions

The first scene that portrays cultural interactions is in the reeducation experience that the

boys prospect to find in the mountains. As urban people, they will be expected to adjust to rural

societal expectations. At the mountain, they do not find working as peasants pleasing. This

signifies cultural differences. Furthermore, the education system is stifled in the film. The

supervisor for intellectuals, Ma and Luo is an illiterate village headman.

The communist regime wants people to perform strenuous work and lead simple lives.

However Luo opposes this system and considers his own way of education. Luo’s interaction

with the Little Seamstress exemplifies cultural interaction scenarios. Luo prospects to perform

his own kind of reeducation on the Little Seamstress. He wishes to change her from her

simplistic and country-like nature to a cultured person worthy of praise for her own affection.

His dream materializes in another scene where Ma and Luo read Balzac to her. Prior to

enlightenment, the Little Seamstress contradicted with the government’s form of re-education

while the exposure of Ma and Luo to literature from the West had sharpened their ideologies and

changed their ambitions to counter the expectations of the communist regime in the nation.

References

Balzac and The Little Chinese Seamstress, 2002 [film]. Directed by: Sijie, Dai. US: Empire

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