Grain in Ear

Grain in Ear (Chinese: 芒种; Korean: 망종; RR: Mang Jong) is a 2005 Chinese film written and directed by Korean Chinese filmmaker Zhang Lu.[1][2] The title refers to the solar term in the traditional calendars of China and Korea.[3]

This article is about a Chinese-South Korean film. For East Asian calendar term, see Mangzhong.
Grain in Ear
Grain in Ear poster (2005)
Directed byZhang Lu
Written byZhang Lu
Produced byChoi Do-yeong
StarringLiu Lianji
Jin Bo
Zhu Guangxuan
Wang Tonghui
CinematographyLiu Yonghong
Edited byKim Sun-min
Release dates
  • 18 May 2005 (2005-05-18) (Cannes)
  • 24 March 2006 (2006-03-24) (South Korea)
Running time
109 minutes
CountriesChina
South Korea
LanguagesMandarin
Korean

Plot

Cui Shun-ji is a Chinese woman of Korean ancestry. A single mother bringing up a young son, she lives away from her hometown, and makes a living by selling kimchi. In the course of living her life, she meets three men who betray her. When her son dies in an accident, she decides to take revenge.

Location

Grain in Ear was filmed in a small industrial town, an area 45 minutes' drive away from Beijing, yet just on the edge of farmland."[4]

Theme

Grain in Ear examines the interplay of sex, economics, social class and race in a newly industrialized Chinese provincial backwater. Korean Chinese are one of the recognized ethnic minorities in China, comprising about 2.7 million citizens. Korean Chinese are spread throughout the country, and their group situation is consequently invisible to other Chinese, though many have difficulties integrating into society. Televised folklore celebrations and popular Korean foods such as the world-famous kimchi serve as one of the few common reminders of Korean Chinese culture for other Chinese. Zhang, in his brutal focus on the challenges of assimilation for his native ethnic group, explains that "his film is essentially anti-terrorist. Not at all in the way of Bush’s political agenda, but on the scale of everyday life, how we as humans terrorize those around us."[4]

Festival appearances and awards

See also

References
  1. "Grain in Ear (2006)". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  2. Hartzell, Adam. "Grain in Ear". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  3. "The Twenty-four Solar Terms". Beijing Star-Light Translation Center. Archived from the original on 5 March 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  4. Yu, Gu (11 October 2005). "Grain in Ear". Schema Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012.
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