Like most of the Mid-Atlantic states today, I woke up to six inches of snow with the likelihood of an additional 10-14 inches. After watching the morning news, I decided to search for a foreign film or a program about a different culture. Not knowing the TV schedule, I looked at channels that typically featured international programming such as the Independent Film Channel, Sundance, BBC America, Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, HBO and the Travel Channel.

I settled on the Sundance Channel which was showing an interesting Chinese film with subtitles called Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. This film, nominated for a 2003 Golden Globe, is about “two young Chinese boys of bourgeoisie backgrounds who were sent to a remote village in Sichuan province for three years of re-education during the Cultural Revolution. They both fell in love with a beautiful local girl, granddaughter of an old tailor and known to everyone as the Little Seamstress.” The movie gave me what I believe to be a good representation of rural China in the early 1970s and some insight into the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Furthermore, I found myself intrigued because I got a glimpse of the language, music, food, social interaction and laws of China at that time. Overall, I thought this love story was the perfect film to watch on a snowy day.

As I remain stuck inside for the weekend, I am glad to know that I can connect with another culture through foreign television programming. Up next, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel which will feature holiday feasts from around the world.