This film commentary will be graded by the following criteria:
specific references to the film, as cited by dialogue or plot elements and timestamp
organization and structure
quality of written language and proofreading
Each film commentary should be typed in double-spaced size 12 font with one-inch margins,
and be 3-4 pages in length.
Both fictional characters Gu Qing from (Yellow Earth film, dir. Chen Kaige, 1984) and Li
Chun from (Sacrificed Youth film, dir. Zhang Nuanxin, 1986) are urban outsiders in the
villages they visit and inhabit. Referring to at least one specific scene from each film, analyze
each character’s attitude toward their hosts and other villagers. What do these scenes suggest
about the filmmakers’ attitude toward China’s national history, and how do the two
characters’ gender affect the tone conveyed in the movies?
It may be helpful to refer to Esther Yau’s essay “‘Yellow Earth’: Western Analysis and a
Non-Western Text” and/or Lingzhen Wang’s discussion of Zhang Nuanxin’s changes to the
novel in her film adaptation in “Zhang Nuanxin and Social Commitment in 1980s Chinese
Women’s Experimental Cinema” (22).