Set in the 1920’s, the film, as director Zhang Yimou believes, is still relevant in the Chinese context today. The same questions are elicited from Ju Dou’s melodramatic scenes, and though viewers are not “broadened” the same way now from when it was seen back then, it is brought to light that the approach to issues, such as human rights, are not effective in attaining its goals. How can a local film like this truly influence the world? The local-global relationship (usually seen as making global references affecting local action) has been so one-sided that its almost oppressive tendency has been thought to be but a consequence of this borderless world. But whoever said it had to be that way? Those who may disagree have resigned to trying to conform with great difficulty to such international standards due to cultural differences, or have shut away such foreign influences completely—questioning the very purpose of such a globalized world.
“They attack us but we can’t run. We can’t run so we go home.”