A Girl from Hunan is a daring portrait of feudal village life in the early part of this century, when women were trapped in centuries-old tradition and death was often the price paid for desire. The film is based on Shen Congwen's 1919 novel but it can be no accident that so many contemporary Chinese film directors have chosen to deal with women's lives in feudal times. A Girl from Hunan deals with what is to us an extraordinary tradition, that of marrying a young woman to a child husband. Xiao Xaio (Na Renhua), herself only twelve years old, is married to a two-year-old boy and settles in to work for his family. At first, the good-natured Xiao Xiao finds it amusing to call this toddler, for whom she cares like a brother, "husband." But when, within a few years, her own sexuality is awakened in an affair with a village laborer, only tragedy can ensue. The ceremonious punishment-shown in an eerie, torch-lit night scene-of a young widow and her illicit lover foreshadows what would be Xiao Xiao's fate, were it not for an ironic twist that at once saves her life and ensures that the oppressive tradition will continue into the next generation.