Balzac And The Little Chinese Seamstress - Comments and Message Board

An invaluably sad but exceptionally beautiful work of art realistically depicting instability and mutability of all things in modern life. It's inevitably fluid like nature of human evolution between one époque to another influenced by new trends of individualism, nuclear family and globalisation in particular in this story. All these evolutions comes at a terrible costs to stability of our emotional life and collapse of traditional sense of community, almost always followed by a devastatingly painful separation.I can feel ethereal touch of Author's remnant filial love to his mother country China. It is easy to see that the Author was torn between his deep seated love for old China before the cultural revolution and Ambition for prosperity on his chosen land (France) at the moment of his life time decision making. This is something that not many understand unless you are forced to leave from your homeland and love ones for a cause. I have left Japan , Kyoto and a noble born beloved fiancée along with almost all things I perceived exquisite at that time for an ambitious cause. Now I am in a terrible state of homesick.Sentimentalism is further augmented by an outstanding soundtracks with his genius touch in a perfect synchronisation with emotion portrayed in screenplay. Since I have played harpsichord continuo accompaniment part of George Frederick Handle's tragic operas such as Alcina, Otone and Radamisto for student soprano singers during rehearsals in the past, I can readily feel Author's masterful quality of refined artistic mind in every scene. Author must be someone who understands classical and baroque music quite well. Pachelbel, Haendel, Scarlatti and Albinoni in particular. This is a second film that I bought for my collection of Dai Sijie's works. I am also a fan of Les Filles du Botaniste. It is such a sad film but exquisite work of art. I must admit that he is a genius of screenplay depicting moments of such a painful separation and innate strength of women. Every young woman has dreams of being swept up into a great adventure, of being the beautiful princess. Lamentably, when women grow up, they are often swept up into a life filled merely with demands, duty and responsibility. Many women are tired, struggling under the merciless pressure to be of a faithful servant, or a caregiver for children, husband or authoritarian father as seen in Les Filles du Botaniste. Who else can reproduce the sentiment so vividly on the screen with such poetic touch today? Perhaps no one else but refined humanist Director Dai Sijie! Julien Kujo, Palo Alto, California