Xie Jin is best known in the West for his widely acclaimed 1964 film Two Stage Sisters, which was featured in PFA's Electric Shadows series in 1981 and is scheduled to return in April. Xie Jin was unable to work for many years after Two Stage Sisters, but today he is one of China's most respected and popular filmmakers; tonight's features were the top commercial films of their respective years. Both films deal, within the framework of the drama, with the purges of the past and the changes that have occurred in the post-Gang of Four era. The Herdsman tells of the tensions between a father and son whose temperaments and sensibilities are at odds, having been formed during a 30-year separation to virtually opposite ends of the earth. The film opens with their reunion and goes on to tell in flashback the story of Xu Jingyou, who left his wife and child behind to become a successful businessman in the U.S.; and Xu Lingjun, the child, now grown, who was accused of guilt by association and exiled to the pasturelands of the far northeast. He suffered numerous humiliations but emerged with a profound love for that land and its people. His experiences there form the core of the film, beautifully shot on location, and highlighted by a fine performance by Cong Shan as the Sichuan refugee Xu Lingjun marries.