It is,in a certain way, almost strange to write something about this movie, now, so long after I have really admired it, so long after I have so intensely cherished it.XIU—XIU might be described as a small—scale romantic—naturalistic synthesis. It has gusto, flair and pace. It has suavity, and visions of hell. It is very coherent, limpid and well—constructed. The directorial approach is sober and incisive.It is deliberately heartbreaking and shocking and sensationally lyrical, of extreme emotional density ,a remarkable experience of art, of rich emotions; and, although not decadent in itself, it strongly appeals to decadent sensibilities and receptivity. (I thought it was good in a Rozanov/Bloy/ Nietzsche way, as I was able then to define the sphere of perception.) It treated highly, in a dignified perspective ,of humble things, elemental feelings and atrocious events. It played like the sum-ma of a certain art.Mainly on its base, I have formulated, or rather improvised, a quite decadent theory, the idea of the cruel, savage movie. By this, I meant a kind of lyrical and inspired naturalism, shocking and thrilling, the kind that might be seen in XIU—XIU, in the R. Harris masterpiece This Sporting Life (1963) and in some scenes of A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) .The film has strength and several merits. It is of an explicit beauty. It is a synthesis—a vision of art, a synthetic take. It has a vision of the human life, society, violence, evil, pain. It has a contemplative, quite and slow side. It is beautifully conceived and acted. Its sadness is visceral and piercing. For a time, I thought it better than anything else. During my XIU—XIU era, when I resolutely campaigned for it among my pals, I also liked ED WOOD.On the viewer's part, XIU—XIU might define an inclination towards finding beauty in its most compact and intense expressions. An aptitude for finding it. XIU—XIU is also an admirably crafted drama, that adds competence to the inspiration' s high aim.

Xiu Xiu is one of many young people transplanted from their homes in the city to the countryside in an ill-fated attempt by the government to enforce an exchange-type program. The aims might have originally been noble, but this story is about one fictitious girl who suffers greatly because she is dumped "in the middle of nowhere" and is forgotten. Life as a nomadic horse herder doesn't suit this city girl well and her promised return home never materializes--making her desperate to do anything to get back.This is an interesting film because it is critical of the Chinese Communist regime of the 1960s--only something you might have seen in a film made in China in very recent years. It also talks about sexual abuse and exploitation. However, despite these being interesting topics, the overall product left me curiously flat and unimpressed--mostly because the characters were difficult to relate to, were amoral and were amazingly one-dimensional. This SHOULD have left me a lot more satisfied, as films with similar themes (such as "Lan feng zheng", otherwise known as THE BLUE KITE) but instead I just felt detached and wanted the film to end and end soon. I wanted to like this film a lot more than I actually did.FYI--Parents, this film is not appropriate for younger viewers both because of sexual content and because the birth scene is pretty gross. Think twice before letting your kids see this one.

I love this movie... It's such a sad film. It's sad enough to speak of love for such sad things. It starts off so pretty and happy. Such bright colors, pretty sky... then everything just changes. The colors never change, it is always pretty outside.. but the nights are what makes it sad. It made me feel angry of all the things that went wrong in this film... i wanted to be there, to help somehow... everything in this film is done so artisicly. The end of the movie is a perfect way to end sorrow. There is no better way to end something, than to simply end it. I recommend it to all who want to be touched. This is something that will never be done again. Nothing else like it. 10/10 for this one.

my friend I find the music in the movie pretty supportive to the silence that the two characters shared. Lately I'm turning more towards these recent canto movies mainly because of their better and much appropriate music.Watch 'Four Seasons' and 'Vertical Ray of the Sun' and I think you'll understand what I'm trying to say...maybe I'm wrong!