Story of Qiu Ju, The (Full Frame)

VHS, PG, 100 minutes, COLUMBIA / TRI STAR

Chinese star Gong Li ("the most purely beautiful woman in the movies" - David Chute, Vanity Fair) gives a luminous performance as Qiu Ju, a stoic peasant woman who demands an apology when her husband is kicked in the groin by the village Chief. But the Chief is a proud man who refuses to apologize, sending Qiu Ju on a futile trek through the compiled Chinese court system. From her small village to a nearby city and finally to the large and impersonal district court, hers is a universal battle against bureaucracy and indifference. Winner of Best Picture and Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival, "The Story Of Qiu Ju" is "funny, touching, surprising, provocation and entertaining every step of the way" (David Sterritt, "The Christian Science Monitor).