Abstract:

The year is 1966. In a small Chinese town at the start of the Cultural Revolution, another enemy of the people is unmasked. Criminal's name: Tian Ben. Nickname: Little Four-eyes. Age: 13. Crime: Insulting the Party. Instrument of Crime: A phonograph record. Punishment: Permanent banishment to Niu Peng, a remote rehabilitation camp in the Mountains of Eternal Life. Tian Ben is sentenced to live among a den of thieves where each criminal is forced to proclaim his crime on a coraza, or giant paper dunce cap. Only a 15-year-old pickpocket and an elderly Taoist monk can help the boy fight for survival and identity amid the horrors of the camp. Due to the film's political content, director Dai Sijie was forced to film China, My Sorrow in the French Pyrenees. His creation is a tribute to the spirit of individuality and the resilience of youth during one of China's most repressive eras. With Guo Liang Yi, Tieu Quan Nghieu