In the winter of 1940 a twelve-year-old boy named Luo and a thirteen-year-old girl named Chuchu, both from China, and taken to the Ivanov International School in Moscow. The principal does not want them (it is two months into the school year) and the children do not speak Russian, but they are left there anyway. There is, however, at least one other child in the school from China and the two new students soon begin to adjust to their new environment. This is a war tragedy due to the circumstances which brought the children to the school even before the war directly affects the school. Early in the movie Chuchu describes in detail how her father was executed. The actress did a wonderful job portraying the emotions in this scene as did the actors portraying the students and teachers listening.
In the Autumn of 1941 the school is evacuated due to the war and by this time several students are already in German hands, including Chuchu. Many of the boys, including Lou and some very young boys, want to stay and fight instead of leaving with the principle. Even one girl is caught dressed as a soldier trying to get onto a troop truck. From here the actions in the movie descend into violence and terror, including mass killing of unarmed men women and children.
The movie continues to follow the plight of Chuchu and Lou. What I have described so far are early developments setting up the main portion of the movie. I don't want to give too much away from this point on, so as not to spoil the movie for anyone, but a few things I want to vaguely reference as points of interest are: Luo's strange way of handling a job of delivering death notices to the families of dead soldiers; Luo's interesting way of fighting the Germans; and finally, the tattoo shown on the DVD cover has an important part to play in the plight of Chuchu.
I loved the movie. The plot was strong and well defined, the acting in the movie is excellent, and the characters are well developed. And even though the movie is about war, and includes a great deal of killing, it walks a fine line of not totally skipping it, yet not getting too vivid.
One final thing on a lighter note I will bring up before closing. Before the terror of war really sets in there is one really funny scene (in contrast to the rest of the movie which is anything but funny). This might be a minor spoiler but only minor because you will really have go see it to appreciate how funny this scene is. The school has a bath house which is separate from the other buildings. It is a loosely constructed wooden structure with a center wall which does not go all the way to the ceiling, but high enough the children cannot see over it. The boys shower on one side of the wall and the girls on the other, each side has its own entrance. The children begin horsing around, throwing and spraying water over the wall at the other group. The boys especially are throwing pans of water over the wall. However, unknown to the boys, while they are refilling their pans the girls get dressed and leave very quickly. One of the women who works at the school (a large woman called to Aunt Tonya) enters the bath house as the girls are leaving. While Aunt Tonya is undressing the boys make one last effort to simultaneously throw several pans of water over the wall. They hit the wall and it falls, followed by the whole loosely constructed building. There are about a dozen boys and about a dozen girls seen nude in this sequence, Aunt Tonya is the only one involved in this who is not seen nude.
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Red Cherry [DVD]
Ke-Yu Guo
(Actor),
Hsiao-Ling Hsu
(Actor),
Daying Ye
(Director, Producer, Writer)
&
0
more Rated: Format: DVD
Unrated
IMDb7.0/10.0
$49.99$49.99
$33.99$33.99
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| Format | DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, Color, NTSC, Letterboxed |
| Contributor | Vladmill Nizmiroff, Qitao Jiang, Hsiao-Ling Hsu, Ke-Yu Guo, Wei Lu, Daying Ye, Li Zhang |
| Language | Mandarin Chinese |
| Runtime | 2 hours |
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Product Description
Based on a true story, this horrifying tale follows two orphaned friends as they struggle to survive during World War II. Red Cherry was China's biggest domestic box office hit in 1996. Interactive menus, Scene Access, Production Credits, Awards
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.33:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : Unrated (Not Rated)
- Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.38 x 0.6 inches; 3.2 Ounces
- Director : Daying Ye
- Media Format : DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, Color, NTSC, Letterboxed
- Run time : 2 hours
- Release date : July 27, 1999
- Actors : Ke-Yu Guo, Hsiao-Ling Hsu, Vladmill Nizmiroff
- Subtitles: : English
- Producers : Daying Ye
- Language : Mandarin Chinese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
- Studio : Fox Lorber
- ASIN : 1572525754
- Writers : Daying Ye, Qitao Jiang, Wei Lu
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #122,026 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #2,106 in Foreign Films (Movies & TV)
- #2,447 in Military & War (Movies & TV)
- #24,257 in Drama DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
27 global ratings
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2014
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2006
I would have given this film 5 stars, but what is disturbing is that the claims that it was based on a true story are only partly true. Yes, the film was based on the true story of Zhu De's daughter Zhu Min, who went to the Soviet International Children's School at the age of 14. The film crew had contacted her and obtained her consent when making the film. But the most horrific and most unforgettable part was fictional (and there's the rub). Moreover, her father, Zhu De was not executed in China as a communist before the war. He became an important military figure and later leader in the government. (1954-59) as deputy chairman of the People's Republic of China. He was chairman of the National People's Congress (1959 -67), Communist China's major legislative body, until denounced during the Cultural Revolution . He was restored to his posts in 1971 and died in 1976. From what I understand, it is not unusual in China to call a story "true," despite the facts.
21 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2005
Red Cherry is really a slice of a biography of the lives of two Chinese adolescents. There is no real plot - they do not overcome anything by their efforts, solve any mystery, etc. There is no happy ending as they ride off into the sunset.
Still, this is a captivating movie showing both the cruelty of some men and the inner drive for survival of the victims. When it ends, you will not feel like it has been two hours since the movie began. Nobody would feel like they wasted their time watching this movie.
For those sensitive to such things, there are a few scenes that contain children, both boys and girls (but not together), totally naked. It is NOT, in any way, erotic, however. But it does give a sense of other culture's relaxed attitudes toward nakedness in contrast to typical American attitudes.
If you are trying to decide if you should buy the DVD, I wholeheartedly say, get it. Nobody I've shown it to has regretted seeing Red Cherry.
Still, this is a captivating movie showing both the cruelty of some men and the inner drive for survival of the victims. When it ends, you will not feel like it has been two hours since the movie began. Nobody would feel like they wasted their time watching this movie.
For those sensitive to such things, there are a few scenes that contain children, both boys and girls (but not together), totally naked. It is NOT, in any way, erotic, however. But it does give a sense of other culture's relaxed attitudes toward nakedness in contrast to typical American attitudes.
If you are trying to decide if you should buy the DVD, I wholeheartedly say, get it. Nobody I've shown it to has regretted seeing Red Cherry.
12 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2007
The cover and the story are definitely two different things. I won't give the story away, but please rent this if you can before you choose to buy it...that's all I'll say on this one...3 stars for the acting
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2004
This 1995 Chinese film is based on actual accounts of WW2 survivors and is a testament to the horrors of war. It opens in 1940 when a young Chinese boy and girl are sent to a Russian school. There is a civil war going on in China and their parents have killed by the Nationalists. They are welcomed by their Russian comrades and the first half hour of the film is about their idyllic existence with kind teachers and an atmosphere of acceptance and learning. We see the youngsters enjoying childhood pranks and we smile at their antics.
Then the world suddenly changes. The Nazis invade Russia. And the children of the school become the victims of abject cruelty. Some of them are murdered, all of them are starving and there are moments of heroism as well as horror. The two Chinese children suffer, as do the Russians. The boy becomes a street urchin and eventually he performs some courageous acts against the enemy. The girl works as a virtual slave in a monastery that has been taken over by the Nazis. The commander sees himself as an artist and forces her to have an ugly tattoo glorifying the nazi regime on her back. When the Nazis are defeated she suffers the emotional shame of this.
This film has won many accolades including an Oscar nomination. I add my own accolades. It is beautifully photographed, well paced and horrifying to watch the innocence of the children despoiled. I wanted to hug the children and save them all. I felt their hunger and their shame and their will to survive. I applauded the small acts of heroism. And I wanted to reach out my arms and save these children.
This film is not for everyone. The war is depicted in gruesome reality. And even after the war ends, we understand that its scars will last forever.
Highly recommended, but be prepared to be upset by its theme.
Then the world suddenly changes. The Nazis invade Russia. And the children of the school become the victims of abject cruelty. Some of them are murdered, all of them are starving and there are moments of heroism as well as horror. The two Chinese children suffer, as do the Russians. The boy becomes a street urchin and eventually he performs some courageous acts against the enemy. The girl works as a virtual slave in a monastery that has been taken over by the Nazis. The commander sees himself as an artist and forces her to have an ugly tattoo glorifying the nazi regime on her back. When the Nazis are defeated she suffers the emotional shame of this.
This film has won many accolades including an Oscar nomination. I add my own accolades. It is beautifully photographed, well paced and horrifying to watch the innocence of the children despoiled. I wanted to hug the children and save them all. I felt their hunger and their shame and their will to survive. I applauded the small acts of heroism. And I wanted to reach out my arms and save these children.
This film is not for everyone. The war is depicted in gruesome reality. And even after the war ends, we understand that its scars will last forever.
Highly recommended, but be prepared to be upset by its theme.
25 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries
cyberdonblue
5.0 out of 5 stars
Red Cherry
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 28, 2010
A beautifully enthralling film that draws one in more and more as it progresses. After overcoming one major upheaval, the new found happiness of the main characters is once more shattered when war breaks out and their new homeland is invaded.
A very emotional film at times, it is a story that highlights how total power is often abused by those that hold it and how they inflict their distorted ideals on those less fortunately placed than themselves.
All in all, a very good film with a very capable cast and a refreshing change from the usual Hollywood depiction of war and atrocity. The subject matter is presented without the customary American blood and guts all over the screen but still portrays the fears and hatred of the conquered masses. I would recommend this film to anyone, a worthy 5 star rating.
A very emotional film at times, it is a story that highlights how total power is often abused by those that hold it and how they inflict their distorted ideals on those less fortunately placed than themselves.
All in all, a very good film with a very capable cast and a refreshing change from the usual Hollywood depiction of war and atrocity. The subject matter is presented without the customary American blood and guts all over the screen but still portrays the fears and hatred of the conquered masses. I would recommend this film to anyone, a worthy 5 star rating.
One person found this helpful
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