The Chinese Botanist's Daughters

The Chinese Botanist's Daughters
French-language film poster
Directed by	Dai Sijie
Written by	Dai Sijie Nadine Perront
Produced by	Lise Fayolles
Starring	Mylène Jampanoï Li Xiaoran
Cinematography	Guy Dufaux
Edited by	Dominique Fortin
Music by	Eric Lévi
Distributed by	EuropaCorp
Release date	26 April 2006 (2006-04-26)
Running time	105 minutes
Countries	France Canada
Language	Mandarin

The Chinese Botanist's Daughters (French: Les filles du botaniste, Chinese: 植物园, lit. "Botanic Garden") is a French and Canadian film, with the background set as in China. It was released in 2006.

Plot

Set in China in the 1980s or 1990s, the film tells the story of Li Ming, a young orphan of the Tangshan earthquake, who leaves to study at the home of a renowned botanist. A secretive man and commanding father, he lives on an island that he has transformed into a luxurious garden. Anxious to share this solitary life, his daughter, An, welcomes with joy the arrival of the female student. Soon their friendship develops into a sensual, but forbidden attraction. Incapable of separating themselves, Ming and An create a dangerous arrangement to be able to continue spending their lives together: Ming marries An's brother, who is a People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldier and cannot bring his wife with him. However, An and Ming's relationship is discovered by the botanist who has a heart attack when he finds out. Before he dies, he tells police that it was his daughter and daughter-in-law's homosexuality "disease" that killed him. Thus, An and Ming are sentenced to death by a court and executed.

Casting

• Mylène Jampanoï – Li Ming
• Li Xiaoran – An
• Dongfu Lin – Botanist
• Weiguang Wang – Dan
• Thi Xuan Thuc Nguyen – La vieille
• Tuo Jilin – Le juge
• Dinh Xuang Tung – Policier 1
• Le Ba Anh – Policier 2
• Vuong Trach Vu – Policier 3

Controversies

Permission to film in China was refused, leading to the film being shot in northern Vietnam instead (mainly in Ba Vì and Hà Tây) to create a similar environment.

Awards and nominations

Montréal World Film Festival:

• Best Artistic Contribution (Guy Dufaux, won)
• People's Choice Award (Sijie Dai, won)
• Grand Prix des Amériques (Sijie Dai, nominated)

Inside Out Film and Video Festival:

• Best Canadian Film or Video (Sijie Dai, won)

External links

• Official site in French
• Release information
• The Chinese Botanist's Daughters at IMDb
• Les Filles du Botaniste at ELMS
• The Chinese Botanist's Daughters Interview with Dai Sijie in Tokyo Wrestling