Hibiscus town = Furong zhen [Widescreen] [NTSC]

A romantic melodrama which follows the fortunes of a bean curd seller, Hu Yuyin, through the political turmoil of the early sixties, the purges at the height of the Cultural Revolution in the mid-sixties and the end of mass persecution and rehabilitation of ‘rightists’ in the late seventies. The film spans the period by honing in on Hu’s life in three years (1963, 1966, 1979). Hu, as a small businesswoman, is the target for the hardline militants but she is a survivor. She forms a relationship with Qui, reviled by the militants. Hu and Qui are branded as a ‘black couple’ and reduced to street sweepers. This is veteran director Xie Jin’s attempt to answer the challenge of the ‘Fifth Generation’ filmmakers by making a film with a critical edge. It was a popular success in China. Cast includes Liu Xiaoquing, Jiang Wen and Zheng Zaishi. In Mandarin with English subtitles.