| Tuesday, April 24th - 9:15 pm - St. Anthony Main 
Thursday, April 26th - 5:00 pm - Oak Street Cinema Director: Dai Sijie
Banned in China, sensitvely directed by reknowned novelist and filmmaker Dai Sijie (Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress), The Chinese Botanist's Daughters is set in 1980's China, when not all taboos were lifted (and, still aren't). In this sensual adventure, Min (Mylene Jampanoi), reared as an orphan and now a modern young woman, sets off on an six-week internship with a renowned botanist. |
A secretive man and authoritarian father, this teacher lives on an island he has transformed into a luxuriant garden. Obliged to share this solitary, withdrawn life, his 20-year-old daughter, An (Xiao Ran Li), is delighted by Win's arrival. Amid Sijie's small delicate touches of nude, glistening bodies in filtered low light, old Buddhist monks and silhouetted temples, lanterns sparkling on nighttime lagoons, tender moments shared by the two girls, it is easy to see how quickly they form a bond, only to see their friendship develop into a disturbing, erotic, and forbidden relationship. The idea of separation is impossible; Min and An soon concoct a dangerous arrangement that will allow them to continue to live under the same roof, until male authority intervenes. "Because of the subject," comments the director, "we couldn't resort to a Chinese production company, it couldn't have gotten authorization..." The film is set around the famous North Vietnam Kanlin gorges.
Cast: Mylene Jampanoi, Li Ziaoran, Dongfu Lin, Wang Weidong, Nguyen Van Quang, Nguyen Nhur Quynh, Nguyen Thi Xuan Thuc, Yang Jun, Le Tung Linh, Chu Hung, Tuo Jilin
In Mandarin with English subtitles, France/Canada, 105 minutes, 2006, 35mm
Presented by: Cafe Barbette  University of Minnesota Consortium for the Study of the Asias  |
