The Peters Education Center Auditorium was packed last Friday, Feb. 7, for Fresno State’s CineCulture.

The film presented was “Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress” (2002), directed by Dai Sigie, it tells the story of two young men forced to live and work in a re-education camp during China’s Cultural Revolution. 

In the film, two boys — Mao and his best friend Lou, due to their failure to give up Western culture.

The boys were sent to a re-education camp in rural China to spend years farming, mining and learning how to be good Chinese citizens under the reign of Chairman Mao Zedong.

Where they are convinced they will spend the rest of their lives in re-education. 

The village chief, who was also in charge of the boys’, said in the film about those sent to the re-education camps: “Of 1,000 children from bad families, only three will be able to return to the city.” 

The boys, however, struggled to let go of what little western culture they knew of. They befriended Little Seamstress, the granddaughter of the village tailor, and found that she was completely ignorant of western culture but curious and open.

 It was by stealing western books, including the works of the French writer Balzac, that they were able share the power of the novel and Western culture with Little Seamstress, whose real name is never revealed in the film.

This exposed her to ideas and concepts she was unaware of before. 

Sometimes a book can change your whole life,” said the tailor, Little Seamstress’s grandfather, in the film. 

The discussant for the night was Ed EmanuEl, who before the movie discussed China’s Cultural Revolution, which started with the Great Leap Forward in 1958.

When Chairman Mao wanted to expunge the country of all western influence and sent anyone who did not comply to re-education camps. EmanuEl said that for China “…the Great Leap Forward was a great fall backwards.” 

During this period, according to EmanuEl, thousands of books were burned. EmanuEl said, “Shakespeare was destroyed by the Cultural Revolution.” 

He explained, however, that after the revolution ended in 1975, there was the realization that Western culture held great value. 

After the movie ended, the audience had the chance to hear more from EmanuEl and ask questions about the movie, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and modern day applications. 

One attendee said, “I was so impressed with the film.” 

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress” has won several awards, including the John F. Kennedy Gold Medal and has also been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. 

Toward the end of the film, Little Seamstress, when asked what changed her, gave a simple answer: “Balzac.” 

Another attendee;student, commented on how Ma and Lou and the books they stole were able to influence Little Seamstress’s grandfather, who was opposed to Western culture in the beginning of the movie. 

When another one of the attendees asked what the Little Seamstress represented in the film, EmanuEl said, “She is China.” 

Film Screen Fridays are held every Fridays at 5:30 p.m. in the Peters Education Center Auditorium (west of Save-Mart Center in the Student Recreation Center Building)

Next Film Playing– A Girl from Mogadishu (2019) by Dr. Rose Marie Kuhn.