When the women of her time had their feet bound to please men, Qiu Jin was already questioning the sexual inequality of feudal traditions. Free-spirited and well-educated, she grew up practicing martial arts and was as well versed in poetry as she was in sword-fighting. When this rebellious girl moved to Beijing with her husband, she witnessed how her country was raided and ravaged by foreign powers. With the encouragement of her neighbor Wu Zhiying, the wife of righteous magistrate Li Zhongyue, Qiu Jin left her family behind to pursue study in Japan. There, she met some like-minded schoolmates who shared her ideals, including revolutionary leader Xu Xilin, and secretly joined his anti-Qing cause. After returning to China, Qiu Jin participated in the uprisings staged by Xu Xilin, leading a small group of hot-blooded students against the armed forces of the corrupt Qing government...
Acting
Crystal Huang Yi's fierce, heartbreaking transformation
Cinematography
Stunning contrast of delicate interiors and brutal battlefields
Production
Meticulous period detail that makes the Qing era suffocatingly real

Director
Herman Yau
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Qiu Jin is literally on Chinese currency (the 100 yuan note) yet most Western audiences have never heard of her. Herman Yau fought for years to get this made because studios kept calling her 'too obscure.'
Crystal Huang Yi trained in wushu for eight months and performed most stunts herself, including the final execution scene which was filmed in a single devastating take.
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