Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
2002 · 116 min · Director: Sijie Dai, Dai Sijie
Show plot summary (may contain spoilers)
In 1971 China, in the lingering grip of the cultural revolution, two university students, Luo and Ma, are sent to a mountain mining village as part of their reeducation duty to purge them of their classical western oriented education. Amid the backbreaking work and stifling ignorance of the community, the two boys find that music, and the presence of the beautiful local young women are the only pleasant things in their miserable life. However, none compare to the young seamstress granddaughter of the local tailor. Stealing a departing student's secret cache of forbidden books of classic western literature such as the works of Honore de Balzac, they set about to woo her and teach her things she had never imagined. In doing so, they start a journey that would profoundly change her perspective on her world and teach the boys about the power of literature and their own ability to change their world in truly revolutionary ways.
Emotional fingerprint
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002) — Movie. Top emotional signals: Empathy 30%, Melancholy 25%, Love 20%. Source: AI estimate. Shares describe emotional signal, not percentages of people. Your experience may differ. How we measure
- Empathy30%
- Melancholy25%
- Love20%
- Inspiration15%
- Sadness10%
AI estimate · no viewer votes yet
How we measure
AI estimate
Share of emotional signal, not the percentage of people or a probability of enjoyment.
Each viewer contributes one response, split equally across their selected emotions. When available, an automated estimate supplies a prior that is blended with those responses. Counts include distinct viewers, not automated estimates or archived anonymous votes. Fewer than 3 viewers is an early estimate; more responses do not guarantee certainty.
Why it feels this way
The strongest emotional signals are Empathy, Melancholy, Love. Genres: Drama, Romance, Biography. AI estimate.
Is it worth watching?
Consider this title if you are looking for Empathy, Melancholy and Love. Its IMDb rating of 7.2/10 suggests a generally positive audience reception. For these leading emotions, its Feel Score is 70/100.
How did it make you feel?
Votes are saved to the fingerprint once you’re signed in.
Pick up to three · 0/3
Kadri — your film companion
AIAsk anything about Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. From the film’s own dialogue and FeelDB data, at your spoiler level.
Afterward Reveal viewer responses · may contain spoilers
Viewer responses about feelings after the title ended, separate from feelings while watching. No AI estimates.
0 responses so far
Feeling details appear after at least 3 viewers respond, to protect privacy.
Cast
Old Tailor
Mother of Four Eyes
Old Mill Worker
Director of the Commune
Doctor
Peasant
Peasant
Peasant
Female Villager
Female Villager
Female Villager
Female Villager
Female Villager
Female Villager
Female Villager
Details
- Directed by
- Sijie Dai, Dai Sijie
- Written by
- Sijie Dai, Nadine Perront, Dai Sijie
- Type
- Movies
- Released
- 2002
- Runtime
- 116 min
- Country
- France, China
- Ratings
- Feels mostly
- Empathy
- Data updated
Where to watch
Feels similar
More like this →Emotion overlap shows mood similarity, not a prediction of enjoyment.
