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Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

2002 · 116 min

A tender, bittersweet coming-of-age story set against political repression, where forbidden books and first love offer fleeting liberation.

Directed by
Dai Sijie
Genres
Drama, Romance
Starring
Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, Liu Ye
Tagline
A tailor-made love story.
Overview
During the Cultural Revolution, two young men are sent to a remote mining village where they fall in love with the local tailor's beautiful granddaughter and discover a suitcase full of forbidden Western novels.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Dai Sijie
Genres
Drama, Romance
Starring
Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, Liu Ye
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • romanticstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • coming-of-age
  • love
  • freedom
  • identity
  • isolation
Places
  • countryside
  • small town
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror1
Humour3
Realism8
Romance7
Tension4
Darkness6
Complexity6
Emotional weight8

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, romance
Directed by
Dai Sijie
Written by
Nadine Perront, Dai Sijie
Starring
Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, Liu Ye, Wang Shuangbao, Cong Zhijun, Wang Hongwei, Xiao Xiong, Zuohui Tang
Music
Pujian Wang
Cinematography
Jean-Marie Dreujou
Runtime
116 min
Country
China, France
Languages
Mandarin, French

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