A moving film which follows one family from the 1940s through the 1960s in China. The two protagonists, a husband and wife, constantly struggling with poverty, become dedicated Communists during the reign of Mao Zedong and witness the devastating effects of the Cultural Revolution. The director Zhang Yimou was forced by the Chinese government to write a formal apology and banned from making another film for two years following the release of this honest and politically important work.  (CHN227, $19.98)