Border town = Bian cheng [NTSC]

This bittersweet drama set in the first half of the twentieth century is adapted from the novel of the same name by noted Chinese writer Shen Congwen. The story centres on Cuicui, a feisty teenager orphaned as a young girl who lives and works with her ferryman grandfather in a small village in West Hunan province. Over a period of time two brothers, the sons of a local ship-owner, are each drawn to Cuicui, who despite her grandfather’s concerns about her future, stubbornly rejects any notion of courtship or marriage. When tragedy, caused in part by the girls inaction, befalls those around her, she is left alone. Cast includes Feng Hanyuan, Dai Na, Liu Kui and Shi Lei. (Awards: Best director Golden Rooster Awards, 1985). In Mandarin with English subtitles.