Two Great Sheep
- Sun Yunkun: Zhao Deshan
- Jiang Zhikun: Xiuzhi, Deshans woman
- Zhao Shenglin: Vice-Province Governor
- Chen Dajiang: Mayor
Two Great Sheep (Chinese好 大一 对 羊, Pinyin hǎo Da Yi Dui Yáng ) is a Chinese film directed by Liu Hao from the year 2004.
Action
The film is set in a small village in Yunnan. For a development project in the poor mountainous region two rare foreign sheep are brought into the village. By breeding the precious animals should be earned money in the future.
The sheep from the Vice-Province governor Liu brought to the village and the farmers Zhao Deshan, one of the poorest in the village entrusted. Since he now manages the capital of the village, he rises in the hierarchy of the village; Residents who have shunned him earlier, now come to him. Also, the village chairman is friendly towards him, and provides it with other materials for the construction of a barn available.
Deshan who devotedly cares with his wife for the animals, but the necessary knowledge about the breeding of this species sheep missing. So he gives them fried noodles to eat, since they deny the grass of the barren landscape. In order to satisfy the hunger of sheep, he travels to the city to get food from there for the sheep as well as in other mountain valleys, where it can get a little grass. Finally, he takes the sheep even to his apartment, to protect them from the cold weather.
After some time, the sheep are pregnant, however, they are brought Liu back from the village. Thereupon make Deshan and his wife to retrieve the beloved sheep. In the last scene they are observed in the claws of animals, but there is no action to stop them.
Production and censorship
The screenplay based on the novel by Xie Tianmin, was not rejected by the Chinese Movie supervision, the film was funded by the Beijing Film Academy. In a funding agreement broadcast on television was fixed two years later.
However, the production company did not manage to bring the film within the two years to the movies, so the film was first shown after two years in Chinese state television CCTV. After this broadcast party cadres from Yunnan prevail, that the film was examined by censors again, the forbidden then to broadcast the movie again or to show in cinemas. In Europe and America, the film was shown at several film festivals, including at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Reviews
In one of the few existing reviews of the film as "observed good, warm and human satire of rural life in a marked poverty of community" in China, " praised.
Film critic Stephen Holden of The New York Times said the film can either be understood as " edifying story about teamwork and community spirit " or " spoof of scaremongering forming obedience to authority ."