China Synopsis
上访
The dysfunctional Chinese justice system allows citizens with grievances against their local governments to petition the court to clear or correct their record. Yet in order to do so, the petitioners must travel to Beijing to file paperwork and wait an indefinite period to plead their case. Following the saga of a group of petitioners over the years of 1996 and 2008, Petition unfolds like a novel by Zola or Dickens. This was filmed surreptitiously from the point of view of the petitioners, and not the justice officials, the police, or those heavies sent by the municipalities.
Other Titles From YLE
The 2008–2010 China Window
Petition holds position #26 of 69 China films in the 2008–2010 window, below highlighted by audience rating.
The 2000s China Landscape
2009 was the decade’s peak output year for China — 24 titles released, including Petition. Bars below show how the 2000s stacked up year by year (142 total).
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 23 other China films in 2009.
The 200th China title from China we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1935).
Our China catalog contains 946 titles in total (747 films).
Audience Engagement
11 audience reviews — more than 14% of China films in our index.
Popularity sits at the 1th percentile among China films.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #455 of 946 China films indexed here (52nd percentile by TMDB audience score).
Among China Documentary productions specifically: #40 of 52 (top 77%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | China |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Chinese |
| Spoken Languages | Mandarin, English |
| Production Companies | YLE, BBC, TSR, ARTE France Cinéma, RTBF |
| Runtime | 2h 0m |
| Release Date | May 22, 2009 |
| IMDb | tt1426381 |