Woman Sesame Oil Maker
Encyclopedia
Woman Sesame Oil Maker is a 1993 Chinese
film in the Mandarin language. In the English speaking world it has been released in the UK under the title Women from the Lake of Scented Souls (the more literal translation) and more recently on DVD
as Woman Sesame Oil Maker. It is adapted from a novel by Zhou Daxin (周大新), "The Fragrant Oil Mill by the Lake of Scented Souls" (香魂塘畔的香油坊).
The film is adapted and directed by Xie Fei
and tells the story of a woman in a small village in Hebei
who runs a small sesame oil
business that becomes unexpectedly successful, but who then uses her money to buy for her mentally disabled son a peasant bride.
The film won the Golden Bear
for Best Film at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival
in 1993, a prize it shared with Ang Lee
's The Wedding Banquet
.
) was sold as a tongyangxi (child bride
) to her present husband, a man with a lame leg, when she was seven. She has an intellectually disabled son Dunzi, who suffers from epileptic fits and is now grown up, and a younger daughter Zhi'er. Through her diligence she has started a successful sesame oil mill and now becomes the richest person in her village.
A Japanese lady investor decides to invest in her business after visiting her mill. Meanwhile, Sister Xiang tries to find a bride for her son. She engineers her son's marriage with Huanhuan (Wu Yujuan), a peasant girl whose family is in dire financial straits.
One night, Dunzi nearly strangles Huanhuan to death during a fit. Huanhuan runs back home, but her mother-in-law makes sure she returns. Huanhuan witnesses her drunk father-in-law beating Sister Xiang in bed. She also chances on Sister Xiang in an adulterous affair
with family friend Ren, who fathered her daughter Zhi'er.
Ren later initiates a break-up with Sister Xiang. Sister Xiang falls ill. She is heartbroken, despite her sesame oil being awarded top prize by the provincial government.
Sister Xiang gradually realizes that Huanhuan, like her, suffers as a kindred spirit. She decides to release Huanhuan by asking Huanhuan to go for a divorce
. But Huanhuan states that her life is already ruined. She then breaks down.
Cinema of China
The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...
film in the Mandarin language. In the English speaking world it has been released in the UK under the title Women from the Lake of Scented Souls (the more literal translation) and more recently on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
as Woman Sesame Oil Maker. It is adapted from a novel by Zhou Daxin (周大新), "The Fragrant Oil Mill by the Lake of Scented Souls" (香魂塘畔的香油坊).
The film is adapted and directed by Xie Fei
Xie Fei (director)
Xie Fei is a world-recognized Chinese film director. Xie was born in Yan'an, Shaanxi Province.A graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, Xie has also taught at his alma mater as a vice-president of that institution.-Selected films:-External links:...
and tells the story of a woman in a small village in Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
who runs a small sesame oil
Sesame oil
Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. Besides being used as a cooking oil in South India, it is often used as a flavor enhancer in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and to a lesser extent Southeast Asian cuisine.The oil from the nutrient rich seed is popular in alternative...
business that becomes unexpectedly successful, but who then uses her money to buy for her mentally disabled son a peasant bride.
The film won the Golden Bear
Golden Bear
According to legend, the Golden Bear was a large golden Ursus arctos. Members of the Ursus arctos species can reach masses of . The Grizzly Bear and the Kodiak Bear are North American subspecies of the Brown Bear....
for Best Film at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival
43rd Berlin International Film Festival
The 43rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 11 to 22, 1993.-Jury:* Frank Beyer * Juan Antonio Bardem* Michel Boujut* François Duplat* Katinka Faragó* Krystyna Janda* Naum Kleiman* Brock Peters...
in 1993, a prize it shared with Ang Lee
Ang Lee
Ang Lee is a Taiwanese film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as Eat Drink Man Woman , Sense and Sensibility , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Hulk , and Brokeback Mountain , for which he won an Academy...
's The Wedding Banquet
The Wedding Banquet
The Wedding Banquet is a 1993 film about a gay Taiwanese immigrant man who marries a mainland Chinese woman to placate his parents and get her a green card. His plan backfires when his parents arrive in the United States to plan his wedding banquet....
.
Plot
Illiterate villager Second Sister Xiang (Siqin GaowaSiqin Gaowa
Sechen Guwa is a Chinese-Swiss actress of Mongol ethnicity. Her name "Сэцэн Гуа" means in Mongolian: The Wise Beautiful.She first came into prominence in the 1982 film adaptation of Lao She's novel, Rickshaw Boy, where she played "Tigress" opposite Zhang Fengyi's Xiangzi...
) was sold as a tongyangxi (child bride
Child Bride
Child Bride, also known as Child Brides , is a 1938 film directed by Harry Revier. Set in a remote town in the Ozarks, it claims to be an attempt to draw attention to the lack of laws banning child marriage in many states...
) to her present husband, a man with a lame leg, when she was seven. She has an intellectually disabled son Dunzi, who suffers from epileptic fits and is now grown up, and a younger daughter Zhi'er. Through her diligence she has started a successful sesame oil mill and now becomes the richest person in her village.
A Japanese lady investor decides to invest in her business after visiting her mill. Meanwhile, Sister Xiang tries to find a bride for her son. She engineers her son's marriage with Huanhuan (Wu Yujuan), a peasant girl whose family is in dire financial straits.
One night, Dunzi nearly strangles Huanhuan to death during a fit. Huanhuan runs back home, but her mother-in-law makes sure she returns. Huanhuan witnesses her drunk father-in-law beating Sister Xiang in bed. She also chances on Sister Xiang in an adulterous affair
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
with family friend Ren, who fathered her daughter Zhi'er.
Ren later initiates a break-up with Sister Xiang. Sister Xiang falls ill. She is heartbroken, despite her sesame oil being awarded top prize by the provincial government.
Sister Xiang gradually realizes that Huanhuan, like her, suffers as a kindred spirit. She decides to release Huanhuan by asking Huanhuan to go for a divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
. But Huanhuan states that her life is already ruined. She then breaks down.
External links
- Woman Sesame Oil Maker at the Chinese Movie Database
- "Xie Fei's Black Snow and Women from the Lake of Scented Souls: Men and Women getting by in post-Mao China podcast of a lecture by Dr. Julian Ward, University of EdinburghUniversity of EdinburghThe University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...