COURTHOUSE ON THE HORSEBACK

A horse carries the state emblem over the mountain passes of Yunnan province. Following it are Judge Feng (Li Baotian), his long-serving court clerk Yang (Yang Yaning), and Ah-Luo (Lü Yulai), fresh from college: the mobile court that settles disputes over pigs, inheritances and marriages in the mountain villages. For Yang, it is the final round – the government is sending her into retirement, and Ah-Luo is to take her place. Between the law the judge represents and the customs of the villages lies more than a day’s march. Liu Jie tells, in “Courthouse on the Horseback” (China 2006), the story of this journey as the farewell of three people who have been bound to one another for years.

The film takes the form of the journey itself, station by station, observing how the law is actually carried out in remote areas. In Venice, Liu Jie’s directorial debut won the top prize of the Orizzonti section in 2006. “Courthouse on the Horseback” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2007.

Shown at the 2007 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2007 · Film Archive