Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is part of The Empire DVD Collection

Based on the best-selling novel set during China’s cultural revolution, this acclaimed film is about two young men, university students, who are sent to a remote mountain village for a Maoist re-education, to purge them of their decadent Western education. Amid the back-breaking work and stifling ignorance of the community, the local beauties are the only respite from their miserable life. But none compare to the granddaughter of the region’s tailor. With a secret cache of forbidden books, they set about to woo her.

GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATION: Best Foreign Film

What the Critics are Saying

"Breath-taking, funny, erotic and altogether bewitching!"- Elle Magazine

"A jewel of a movie!" - Washington Post

"Sweet, funny, sad and profound!" - San Francisco Chronicle

"Exquisite! A love song to great literature." - Los Angeles Times