YU

      SnowFlower and The Secret Fan(2011)

         


Alanguage kept a secret for a thousand yearsforms the backdrop for an unforgettable novel of two Chinese womenwhose friendship and love sustains them through theirlives.
This absorbing film takes placein 19th century China when girls had their feet bound, then spentthe rest of their lives in seclusion with only a single window fromwhich to see. Illiterate and isolated, they were not expected tothink, be creative, or have emotions. But in one remote county,women developed their own secret code,nushu– "women's writing" –the only gender-based written language to have been found in theworld. Some girls were paired as "old-sames" in emotional matchesthat lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans,embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories,thereby reachingout of their windows to share their hopes, dreams,and accomplishments.