She and Her Girls (2024)

Moving mountains, one muddy step at a time

‒Overview‒

If you are wondering whether to watch 'She and Her Girls', hesitate no longer, queue up the first episode, and prepare to lose yourself in this captivating story. Even if this isn't your typical genre and the synopsis lack the usual fantasy or glamor, you will find a hidden gem whose unvarnished substance outshines any gilded tale. In this drama you will find a timeless, universal story about the dogged spirit of a headmaster and her equally tenacious girls, who are changing the lives of others and their own in the most impoverished and anguished of circumstances. Along the way, you will fall in love with the stellar acting, production, organic comedy, emotional moments, and most of all, the touching group of individuals who made the impossible, possible. For many viewers, not only will this be an excellent introduction into the world of serious, 'proper' CDramas, it may even secure a spot among the top dramas of 2024, if not all time.

‒Review (modest spoilers)‒

You are 14 years old, one of the top students of your class. You are hardworking, responsible, with a whole life ahead of you. What do you do as the high school years approaches? Attend fun summer camps, hang out with friends, engage in hobbies and sports, or party and do teenager things? In Gu Yu's case, you drop out of school, work from dawn till dusk until your face and clothes is creased with mud, raise your sibling, pigs, and your pig of a drunkard dad, and prepare to sell the rest of your life for the bride-dowry of 30,000RMB because that's the brightest path in your future.

Such is the life of girls in the villages of Huaping, a remote, impoverished region in China's Southwest. Secluded from the cities by barricades of mountains and forest, most residents of Huaping have never been outside of their villages. For all they know, the only thing beyond the mountains are just more mountains. Modern facilities appear decades away, the same for modern values. Girls are often married off at age of 14, become mothers not long after, and spend their life not much different from the livestock they raise. If they are fortunate, they will have married a decent man, who will toil alongside her, and the cycle repeats. And if they are not fortunate, the husband will be abusive in all sorts of pre-modern ways, and the cycle repeats. To change the lives of these girls and villages is a herculean task of moving the mountains of ragged poverty, stultified structures, and ingrained mindset. Behind each mountain, are only more mountains.

And that's the crusade of Zhang Guimei, a no-nonsense teacher transplanted from the Northeast to Huaping. She had lived in Huaping for too long, and seen too many girls cut their education and future short. Too many parents pull their girls from school at the end of their 9 year compulsory education, and sometimes before then. If a family had some meager resources, they would use it for the education or dowry of their sons. By tradition, a girl's role was to be a wife and mother, the sooner the better, and education only got in the way. Zhang Guimei knew that the only way to give them a fighting chance was to open up a completely free high school for the girls. One that offered not only free tuition, but also meals, board, and living expenses. One that would not only have the girls graduate high school, but also prepare them to succeed in China's notoriously cutthroat Gaokao college entrance exam, so that they could finally scale the mountains and see the world beyond.

With unnerving stubbornness, she begins to move mountains. She hounds dropout students, cajoles skeptical parents, begs and coerces local officials just to get the school constructed. Then came more mountains: attracting teachers to such a grueling and hopeless job, keeping the school running as they scrummage for funds, leading the group of overworked, burned out teachers. And moving the biggest mountain of them all‒marshalling the under-schooled students through the long march to Gaokao, while they are outgunned in every dimension and frequently ambushed by family turmoil. But as she moved mountains, the minds and hearts of others begin to move as well. Soon, she would be joined by a tenacious group of teachers, officials, parents, and most importantly, the 100 precious souls in the initial class of Huaping Girls School. Each battling their own struggles, each a heroic inspiration. As they stumble through the muddy hills of Huaping, literally and figuratively, mountains are slowly moved, one after another.

She and Her Girls is a triumph of the individual spirit melded into an even stronger collective. The remarkable story on-screen is mirrored by the collective performance of a superb cast, for whom many recognitions and accolades await. This is the kind of drama where you are convinced the villagers walked onto the set and doubt how any of them could be actors. There are too many excellent performances to list, so I will only highlight a few notable ones. First and foremost, Song Jia (宋佳) as Zhang Guimei (张桂梅) seamlessly embodied the mannerism and personality of the real-life Zhang Guimei‒one who is stern, quick-tongued, stubborn, but also profoundly warm-hearted and devoted. The other best performance no doubt goes to Lan Xiya (兰熙雅) as Gu Yu (谷雨). Portraying the 15yro Gu Yu, the 25 yro Lan Xiya's performance was simply flawless. This is an extremely challenging role for any actress to play, and I'm still astounded how she pulled it off. The two government officials‒Zhou Shanqun and Ma Yongqiang‒played by Nie Yuan and Jiang Chao were predictably excellent in portraying the aura and mannerism of do-good officials who are nevertheless balancing competing demands in the system. Among the teachers, I was most impressed by Chen Sihai, the school administrator played by Zhang Tianyang, and Wei Tingyun played by Huang Miyi, who might be mistaken for a Zhou Xun doppleganger as she brings the soothing etherealness of the famed actress.

The production, writing, cinematography, editing, and music complete the all-round excellence. Each episode seamlessly balances laughter, emotions, and a gritty, realistic window into the triumphs and travails of the characters and society. There was no lull or filler to be found and I binged through 23 episodes in just a day and half (granted I watch all shows on 2X speed nowadays). As someone who would rate most 8.5+ MDL shows below 7, my overall rating is 8.6 (adjusted to 9.5 for MDL). This is most certainly a top 5 CDrama in 2024, and one of the best school, youth, rural China dramas of all time. For reference, the typically stingy Douban gave this a 9.4 on over 100k votes, likely crowning this as the 2024 rating champ. (This concludes Part 1 of my review. I hope to continue with a part 2, that goes into my very picky critique of the show and some relevant cultural observations.)

--Category Ratings--

- Overall - 8.6
- Plot / Execution - 8.5
- Theme / Concept / Impact - 9
- Acting - 9.2
- Visuals - 8.5
- Audio / Music - 8.5 (bonus for local dialect and undubbed recording)
- Rewatch - 8.5
- Accessibility - 7.5
- Subtitle quality - 8 (some platforms are better than others)

Read More

Best drama in 2024

I am sad almost nobody is watching the drama even though it is available in international platform. She and Her Girls is one of the best dramas I ever watched. It is really touching and heartwarming. You'll laugh alot but cry a bit too. Magnificent casts & acting, EXCELLENT SCRIPT, lovely music, beautiful sets, truly the drama that SAVES the 2024 cdramaland.

I almost never rewatch drama but I rewatch this even when it had not finished yet. I love watching all the funny moments, which were a lot. The story never bored ne (except during some of the long singing lol) and it is always fresh in each episode.

I also applaud the way they include many issues from gender equality, economic inequality, body dysphoria, governance, bureaucracy, even dating and danger of Internet and stigma against art education, all are real life issues which makes this very relatable.

Read More

I have a dream

Gu Yu, female, 14 years old. Due to her alcoholic dad wanting to sell her off for a dowry worth RMB 30,000, she quitted school.
.
Cai Gui Zhi, female, 15 years old. Due to parents unable to pay for fees, she quitted school.
.
Ning Hua, Liu Xi Ying, and many more.
.
They were all girls born in the mountain from Huaping County, Yunnan.
And they were all girls who come from impoverished family with terrible gender discrimination values.
.
.
.
Luckily, they met Zhang Gui Mei, an ordinary teacher who has a stubborn grit to dare to dream big, the execution power to bulldoze any difficult challenges, the dedication to stay on her chosen path for her girls.

Needless to say, an outrageous dream such as building a free high school requires money - a lot of money at that.

Luckily, Zhang Gui Mei is also blessed with the persuasive power to ignite a spark in others to act and support. Her speech in episode 2 to the Party Congress members and journalist was so touching and powerful that it caught the needed attention of the right people, with funds, to build a high school that’s free for these girls.

Securing the funds is only the first hurdle over.
Looking for a land to build that school is the second.
Securing teachers who are willing to teach is the third.
Getting the girls and their families to believe that education matters is the fourth.

And these challenges do not stop at successful start of school. Because these girls are from families that are poor and had been neglecting education for their past few years, many of them realistically do not have the right foundation to comprehend the high school syllabus - it’s as good as asking a group of elementary students to take national exam.

It would’ve made sense for the school to make bets on their more promising students.
.
But of course, not in Zhang Gui Mei’s watch.
.
True to her ideals, Zhang Gui Mei demanded for every student to pass the exams and get a university placement.
No bell curve.
No one left behind.
For these girls whose only way to break out of their poverty cycle is through education, they have no other options.

And so, the girls studied day and night. They studied until nosebleed. The teachers accompanied them. Zhang Gui Mei accompanied them.
Until the end.

Based on a true story, I really like the Zhang Gui Mei that’s portrayed here by Song Jia. It’s usually hard for me to relate to someone who has such noble dreams like Zhang Gui Mei because they are the legends - extraordinary people who have a calling to save the world.

But She and Her Girls show a humane and likeable side to Zhang Gui Mei as the earnest teacher who dedicates all her life to her students.

Zhang Gui Mei portrayed here has lots of flaws. Heck, she will knock on your door at 1am when it comes to asking help for her girls. She talks big and dares to promise the moon, if it means her girls will continue studying. Her plans and executions are full of flaws. She is pushy and demanding when it comes to securing the best chances for her girls. But one will respect her, trust her, and root for her because Zhang Gui Mei truly lives for her girls, and her actions spoke for herself.

Lan Xi Ya as Gu Yu and Du Lan as Cai Gui Zhi were also well cast, nailing their roles as the representatives of Zhang Gui Mei’s and Huaping County girls. Their stories are nothing new - the rivals who make each other stronger, the tangible success that will made Zhang Gui Mei’s and teachers’ effort worth it.

What I love best is how this show balances the pragmatism of life and hope for change. In a tightly packed 23 episode, She and Her Girls rightfully covered a lot of spectrum of social issues that’s paired with practical actions on how to overcome them - mindset change is hard work, money is needed to fund dreams, actions speak louder than words, opportunities aren’t that easy to protect and
.
sometimes …,
daring to dream can change the lives of many,
if you work hard at it.

~~~ quote Zhang Gui Mei

“I have a dream. My dream is to establish a free high school for these girls born in poverty, so that they have the opportunity to read and study.

I want to give them a chance to see the world like the boys do. I want them to leave the mountains and see the vast skies and landscapes. I want them to know that girls born in the mountains don’t need to have bleak future.

Besides giving birth to babies and doing housework like their moms, life can have different possibilities.

Because I truly believe, that an educated woman can be independent from others’ support and can choose the life they want to live. An educated woman can break the cycle of inter generational poverty and change the fate of 3 generations.”

Read More

Not Best of 2024 but REAL CLOSE

Greetings,

OVERALL this is a great series to watch. If you like films like STAND AND DELIVER and FREEDOM WRITERS and DEAD POETS SOCIETY and CONRACK and TO SIR WITH LOVE -- pull up a chair and pop some corn. If you loved this series but don't know any of those films, give'em a try.

I haven't seen every big series this year, but there are two better shows. If only 8 hours qualifies as a 'show' instead of a 'very long movie', then TO THE WONDER is the Best of 2024. If you believe, like me, a show needs at least 20 episodes to actually be a TV show, then A TALE OF ROSE is the best show of the year (that I've seen).

THE CAST

is better than terrific. And the casting agent/director has a gift of delivering very distinct girls that are easy to distinguish and follow. The series sets up two groups of four girls and all of them are fascinating, adorable, different, and charming.

The obvious actress that jumps off the screen is Lan Xi Ya who plays the critical role of Gu Yu. You can't help but absolutely fall in love with her in a parental way, meaning that when you leave this series you leave a 'daughter' behind that you'll miss. Bonus points when you discover her real age which simply blows my mind.

Du Lan and (I believe) Zhang Yue both deliver world class understated performances. Like most of the young ladies in this series, you'll believe they're actually real girls... not actresses with careers.

The men in the series are typical foils for comic moments -- but they typically lighten up the stressful hours of this series. Jiang Chao is GOLD each time he's on the screen, and the actor that plays the Vice Principal (Wang Zi Rui?) is super terrific and dearly missed when he had to leave.

Of course our lead Song Jia as Principal Zhang deserves all the praise she's won and probably six times more. Don't let her sad haircut dissuade you from watching this show. There's a rule in C-Dramas to make everyone so pretty it's often hard to find the men from the pretty girls. Consider this show a break from all that hyper vanity, okay?

One fantastic quality about her character is that she's not what you expect. At times she is stronger than all of her students combined. At other times she's the most childish of them all. This can confuse and delight her faculty but she doesn't notice and cares even less. She's a one of a kind character and I've seen a lot of characters in my last 60 years.

Here's something funny about the cast: there's a Zhou Xun hiding in it. Teacher Wei Ting Yun (Huang Mi Yi) looks and sounds like a close relation. Somebody should cast her as a younger Zhou Xun in the right project, lol.

THE DRAMA

I've seen comments some viewers are taken aback at how dramatic this show is at times. Almost confused, as in the viewer didn't sign up for this intensity at times. No, it's not blood and guts, or aerial sword fights, but a Principal struggling to make a dream come true. A development around Ep 6 is so devastating that you might get sick to your stomach, for you fear the premise of the show is about to collapse.

This type of drama has a name: melodrama. The singing, the crying, the struggles -- they're all exaggerated by genre. When melodrama is done poorly, abandon the piece. Cliche melodrama is having a Mom and Daughter talking in a car all smiles and love and WHAM a car smashes into them and off we go to the obligatory C-Drama hospitals. Anyone can write that garbage.

This melodrama is of much higher quality. RUI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE and THE GREAT CRAFTSMAN are so laden with melodrama that they're soap operas. But damn good ones!

THE STORY

unfortunately had a few bumps, which rob this piece as best of 2024. They're significant enough missteps to wound the series here and there, but not fatally.

Around Episode 11 there's a major victory for Principal Zhang. So HUGE that we need to have obligatory scenes of celebration. Scenes that relieve they tension we've been enduring to get to this point. But we don't get them and immediately dive into a new problem.

Bad. VERY BAD. It's stunning the series was released with this mistake. And that new problem handed to Zhang? Also handled poorly.

To avoid spoiling, let's say an something happens to one of the girls, okay? Principal Zhang should have lost her mind with heartbreak. She did, but oddly we never saw it! It was reported to us later which for a melodrama is unacceptable.

Did this production lose a few hard drives of show and lack enough money to reshoot the scenes?!? I'm genuinely wondering.

And then the WHY that something happened to that girl is presented as a huge mystery, but it's fairly obvious because an antagonist disappears at exactly the same time. Our regularly insightful Zhang can't figure this one out? Nor the Vice Principal, or any of the smart teachers? Ridiculous.

These poorly handled plot twists kicked the story in the teeth hard, and as much as I loved the cast and all these girls -- I couldn't look past this. I suspect they really loved their creative idea of 'the camping girl' but that ruined the show logic for some time. Didn't you cringe every time the girl could have told Zhang what was going on but didn't? And when she finally did it was so anti-climatic.

One other bit of story oddness which has become a Chinese tradition at this point is what I'll call the second ending. This story had two of them. Apparently our otherwise brilliant C-Drama craftsmen/women/persons just can't end a story AT the ending.

BEGINNING OF A SPOILER AREA

Probably the best scene of the series is when the girls come out from their test all slow motion and happy. There's a moment where Zhang hugs them all and kisses the 'stupid' girl on the head -- whose smile and glee only increases. It's an insanely beautiful moment! And then the following sequence where the girls all SCREAM at their test scores fills your eyes with tears and your heart with joy. Maybe the best scenes of the series. But then --

-- we learned none of this happened. I wish I could build the world's largest WTF? out of stone and send it to China. The Wizard of Oz IT WAS ALL A DREAM works great in that film but falls profoundly flat here. YUCK.

Worse, when the story does end, time moves forward and we're inside a concept for what should have been the second season. Send another WTF stone statue to China please. Don't get me wrong: I love the new students and ADORE their new teacher, but these 6 or so episodes should have been part of a Season 2.

Read More

An acting masterclass, well-deserving of being 2024's top drama

The drama follows Zhang Guimei through the trials and tribulations of building and running a free girls high school in a poor mountainous county.

The best way to describe this drama is that its realistically unrealistic. Some of the things that happen in this drama, you'd find yourself in awe and disbelief. The things that Guimei achieves before and after the school is nothing short of miraculous. But this story is based on a real person with these very real achievements, and I find that it makes the story even more captivating. ZGM is not a perfect human being, she's incredibly stubborn and sometimes bad-tempered, she would sometimes make very similar mistakes twice. But despite this, you can tell how much she cares, for her students, her school and her teachers.

I wouldn't claim that this show is perfect. I wasn't a huge fan of the time skip when Gu Yu went missing, I feel like they could have explored the time immediately after she disappeared a bit more. At times the pacing went overwhelming as we couldn't sit with any victories before another issue pops up.

Despite the flaws, I still do believe its one of the best dramas of the year. I found myself crying in joy at points and sadness at others. There was a good balance of drama and humour, and all the characters were well-written and well-acted. Song Jia did an incredible job playing Zhang Guimei and had one of my favourite drama performances of all time. The teachers and students were all played incredibly well, especially Lan Xiya (playing Gu Yu) with all her heavy scenes.

Disclaimer to all the (fellow) foreign fans watching, Zhang Guimei (the real person) has heavy ties to the CCP and this is naturally reflected in the show itself. Apart from one episode (episode 9), I found it well incorporated without breaking the flow of the story. I don't think it should stop anyone from watching the show but it'll be better going in knowing about it.

I highly recommend this show to everyone! This show has a bit of everything, it's heartwarming and inspirational, there's a good balance of comedy to break the heaviness, and all the actresses and actors do a spectacular job throughout

Read More

I have a difficult time trying to come up with any negative point for this drama as it’s like a textbook example of how a biography drama should be in my opinion. It was engaging, makes you feel emotionally invested, and the execution leaves you feeling hopeful despite the heavy theme.

I would say the only thing that I notice is there are some scenes showcasing the agenda of CCP because most individuals in the story are part of CCP. Just want to point this out in case anyone feel uncomfortable watching those scenes. Do keep in mind that the main character is an actual dedicated party member, and this is part of her belief, so I don’t mind that the show just highlight it as is. Personally, it’s not a big issue to me as it doesn’t change my political views nor affect my enjoyment on the drama itself.

Now I’m going to highlight some positive points from this drama:

Pacing and story
Pacing is great and it’s very engaging. You’ll experience all sort of emotions, and it’s very bingeable.

The script is solid from beginning till the end and the dialogues are well written. I like how it just told the story as is because you can see their struggle and how they cope with it. All the struggle and little side story doesn’t feel exaggerated, and all the issues highlighted are real social issue that I think are still relevant to this day.

I also like that we don’t really have a proper villain in the drama, sure some of the characters are infuriating, but you really can’t blame them too much because it’s the norm for them. The government officials are interesting to watch as in their core, they want to do good and support ZGM, but they do have restrictions within their role that they need to abide.

I also like how the show portrays that it’s only due to collective effort that Zhang Guimei was able to achieve those desired results. I’m sure that there are some dramatic changes in the drama, but the story overall feels very realistic.

Lastly I want to highlight that the tone of the show leans more on the light side, so it doesn’t feel heavy to watch and even makes you feel encouraged at the end.

Acting and casts
I would like to highlight the 2 main actors, Song Jia and Lan Xiya. They did such an amazing job at capturing the essence of the characters.
Honestly, I’m so impressed with all the casts, everyone felt like a real person living in those circumstances. It feels like we just took a sneak peek into part of their life.

Overall Rating – 9.0
I think it’s one of the best cdrama that I’ve ever watched. It played with my emotions so well and leave a lasting impression on me. I was also able to learn and reflect on myself after watching it.

Read More