Pretty Big Feet
(Yang Yazhou 2002)
Pretty Big Feet
(Yang Yazhou 2002)
Story:
A young teacher from Beijing comes to a windswept village in the desert of Shanxi Province. Her first attempts at adjusting to the harsh conditions and traditional ways of village life don't go well, but she is eventually won over by the warmhearted locals, and she discovers a "big sister" in the middle-aged widow who had founded the village school.
Review:
Set in a small Northwest China village on the Loess Plateau, the movie sketches the life of a rural woman teacher, Zhang Meili, played by Ni Ping, trying to help the villagers overcome poverty. She believed education was the only way the locals could change their fate.
Engaging performances by its two leads freshen "Pretty
Big Feet," a familiar tale of a plucky peasant teacher helped by a big-city
professional that should slide easily into Asian-centered events. Accessible
pic was co-winner, with Chen Kaige's "Together," of best director
prize at last October's Mainland kudofest, the Golden Rooster Awards -- as well
as sharing the best film gong -- prior to release the following month.