email Join our email list! divider Register Login cartCart
Icarus Film
Films from independent
producers worldwide.
32 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201divider(718) 488 8900
From The dGenerate Films Collection
Fortune Teller: (Suan Ming)
Directed by XU Tong
 Text Size  Increase Font Size   Decrease Font Size   divider Printable VersionPrintable Version

The colorful life of a countryside fortune teller provides a candid and deeply revelatory look at people living on the fringes of Chinese society.

Li Baicheng is a charismatic fortune teller who services a clientele of prostitutes and shadowy figures whose jobs, like his, are commonplace but technically illegal in China. He practices his ancient craft in a village near Beijing while taking care of his deaf and dumb wife Pearl, who he rescued from her family's mistreatment. Winter brings a police crackdown on both fortune tellers and prostitutes, forcing Li and Pearl into temporary exile, during which they visit their hometowns and confront old family demons. Li's humble story is punctuated with chapter headings reminiscent of Qing Dynasty popular fiction.

In Fortune Teller, Xu Tong continues his work documenting China's underclass, whose lives have gone largely unnoticed during the country's boom years. Xu spent a year filming nearly every detail of Li's daily existence and the ancient spiritual practices he administers.

"An exhaustive case history on the marginalization of the poor and disabled under Chinese capitalism"—Ronnie Scheib, Variety

"A complete immersion into their deceptively simple world in the countryside of northern China."—Ada Tseng, Asia Pacific Arts

Top 100 mainland Chinese films, Time Out Shanghai 2014
Bright Future Award, Rotterdam International Film Festival 2010
Jury Prize, China Documentary Film Festival 2010
Second Prize Feature Film, Hong Kong Chinese Documentary Festival 2010
NETPAC Award for the Best Feature-length Film, Chongqing Independent Film Festival 2010

129 minutes / Color
English; Mandarin / English subtitles
Release: 2012
Copyright: 2010

For individual consumers (home video)

This title is available online from:

For colleges, universities, government agencies, hospitals and corporations

This DVD is sold with a license for institutional use and Public Performance rights.

Subject areas:
Asia, China, Disabilities, Economic Sociology, Family Relations, Poverty, dGenerate Films Collection - Documentaries

Watch the trailer:

Related Titles:
Home | New | Titles | Subjects | Ordering   
About | Best Sellers | Filmmakers | Screenings   
address
  Follow Us! On...
Facebook Follow Icarus Films on Twitter Instagram Vimeo YouTube
Copyright (c) 2024, Icarus Films
Last Updated January 25, 2024 [Build 3.0.a060-d7]
Privacy Policy