Previously a psychology student, Saijie's film explores the question of whether ideological thought can be destroyed through hard labour. As fascinating as this is, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress refuses to get too bogged down with ponderous issues. Instead, the tone is lightly counterbalanced by a developing love triangle between the three leads.

Luo and Ma first meet the seamstress (Xun Zhou) when she visits the camp with her tailor grandfather. The adolescents are drawn by her innocence and beauty and when not indulging in 'illicit' reading, volunteer their learning to the seamstress and introduce her to classic literature.

DID YOU KNOW?
	Dai Saijie was in a Chinese Labour Camp between 1971-74   In 1984 Dai Saijie left China for France to continue his filmmaking

The seamstress responds with enthusiasm and with her intellectual curiosity awakened, looks towards a new chapter in her life. The contagious and liberating power of education spreads to the tailor who is inspired to create the most decorous designs after listening to Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo.

Xun Zhou is as delectable here as she was in Suzhou River (2000) and the performances of Chen Kun and Liu Ye combine boyish enthusiasm with a grim seriousness towards the inhumane conditions of the camp. For some, Balzac and the Little Seamstress may not go far enough in its portrayal of a repressed society but as a lesson in love and friendship, it's a joy.