Xiu Xiu, directed and co-written by actress Joan Chen, is filled with small gestures that have larger meanings -- the braiding of hair signals a return to dignity, the burning of a shoe a tiny display of defiance and, at the same time, great respect.

Xiu Xiu is set during the Chinese Cultural Youth Revolution, between 1967 and 1976, when nearly 8 million of China's young were sent to remote corners of the country for specialized training. The movement fell apart and many of the participants never returned home. The story of the fictional Xiu Xiu (played with a sweet innocence by LuLu) is told through the narration of a boy who loved her, in the way that boys love when they are 15 or 16 years old. He pieces together her story through reports and rumors.

In the beginning, the headstrong Xiu Xiu is ready for the adventure and the comradery of the movement. She rides horses and joins her fellows for Saturday night movies. The only hint of trouble comes when one of her companions disappears after causing a minor ruckus. Xiu Xiu doesn't even consider the disappearance until much later, and even then, she doesn't come to terms with the place and the situation she's in.

Xiu Xiu starts to have an inkling when she's sent deep into the countryside to learn how to take care of horses. Her teacher is Lao Jin (Lopsang), a solitary man who's rumored to have been castrated. Together, living in one tent, they learn to tolerate and respect each other. After six months, Xiu Xiu dresses up neatly and waits to be picked up by party members as promised. And then she waits the next day and the next until the peddler comes.

The peddler's arrival marks a drastic change. It's an indictment of the movement, one for which Chen was fined by the Chinese government and banned for working in the county for a year. Xiu Xiu is a brave and sad and tender film. -- Susan Ellis