Cinema
Third Sister Liu
劉三姐
Su Li · 1960
Synopsis
In the karst landscapes of Guangxi, Liu Sanjie, a young peasant woman with a quick tongue, sings couplets that tell of the poverty of the poor. The landowner Mo, who learns that she loves to sing and refuses to pay her dues, wants to silence her; he locks her up in his house, but a servant helps her escape, according to The Paper. Liu Sanjie then turns a singing contest into a weapon to rally the villagers against the rich, according to the Berkeley museum.
Context
The Changchun studio shot the film in 1960 in Guangxi, at the invitation of the region, based on a Liuzhou caidiao opera; Qiao Yu wrote the screenplay in twelve days according to The Paper. The music is by Lei Zhenbang, and Fu Jinhua sings for Huang Wanqiu. In 1963 it received three Hundred Flowers awards, for photography, music and sets. No film of its time had as many prints in circulation according to China News, which reports two exclusive runs of one hundred and twenty days in Singapore; it was shown in more than fifty countries.
Who it is for
A musical film of nearly two hours, in colour; the songs take up all the space, and no French release is established.
Prizes and reception
The World of Chinese regards it as the first Chinese musical film; it made Guilin and Liuzhou famous as far as Southeast Asia.
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