A meticulous and beautifully photographed feature film set in the Chinese countryside. Chu jia nü pursues a tradition in socially-critical tales about the period before the Chinese revolution at the start of this century in which the abuses of the old feudal society are tackled. One of the common themes is that of the arranged marriage of young girls by their poverty-stricken parents. They could often hardly feed their children and the dowry was welcome. Chu jia nü is also about arranged marriages, but in a very spectacular way.Much of the charm of Chu jia nü is thanks to the naturalistic acting of the five young protagonists and the lyrical portrayal of the arcadian countryside. It is striking that the same story has also been filmed in Taiwan at the same time. The Taiwanese version (Five Girls and a Rope) by Yeh Hung-wei is also being screened in Rotterdam. This provides us with a fascinating opportunity to compare filming on Taiwan with that in mainland China.î
