The Story of Qiu Ju

Qiu Ju is a pregnant peasant woman living in a small village in northern China with her husband, Wan Qinglai. When a dispute with the village head, Wang Shantang, turns violent and her husband is injured, she sets out to obtain an apology and an explanation for his treatment. Wang refuses, and what begins as a local complaint grows into a determined campaign through one office and court after another, eventually carrying her from her village to the city and on to Beijing. She keeps pressing her case while her pregnancy advances, seeking the justice she believes she is owed rather than the money offered in compensation.

Zhang Yimou directed the film, the fourth of the twenty-five features he has made, following Raise the Red Lantern in 1991 and preceding To Live in 1994. Liu Heng wrote the screenplay, Ma Fung Kwok produced, and Gong Li plays Qiu Ju, with Liu Peiqi as Wan Qinglai, Liuchun Yang as Meizi, Lei Kesheng as Wang Shantang and Ge Zhijun as Officer Li. Released in 1992, the film runs 100 minutes and blends comedy with drama.

Its worldwide box office stands at about 2 million dollars. On IMDb it holds 7.6 out of 10 from roughly 7,200 votes, while on TMDB it has 7.3 out of 10 from 169 votes, indicating a generally favourable response from viewers across a modest but steady body of ratings.