September 16, 2004
Release Date

6.1

Two Great Sheep (2004)

Name: Two Great Sheep
Genre: Drama
Released: 2004-09-16

1h 40m

Running Time

September 16, 2004
Release Date

External Links & Social Media

Plot.

The film follows a peasant couple, Zhao Deshan and his wife Xiuzhi, living in rural Yunnan province near Zhaotong in southern China. Their lives are thrown into upheaval when the local mayor “rewards” them with two foreign sheep donated by a former villager, now an official in Beijing. The couple is then tasked with breeding the sheep for their wool and to bring prosperity to their small community. Much to their chagrin, the sheep do not take to their new environment and the couple are forced into ever more ingenious ways of making the sheep appear greater than they really are. As they do so, they also come to value the sheep as companions in their family. When it becomes clear that the two “great” sheep are not the boon they were thought to be, the local authorities repossess the animals.

Where to Watch.

No streaming offers found

Cast & Crew.

Sun Yunkun

Jiang Zhikun

Chen Dajiang

Zhao Shengling

Hao Lui

Director

Xian Tanmin

Writer

Yang Buting

Production Controller

Zhao Fei

ProductionDesigner

Media.

Details.

Release Date
September 16, 2004

Original Name
好大一对羊

Status
Released

Running Time
1h 40m

Genres
Drama

Last updated: 2025-02-16

Wiki.

Two Great Sheep (simplified Chinese: 好大一对羊; traditional Chinese: 好大一對羊; pinyin: Hǎo dà yī dùi yáng) is a 2004 satirical Chinese film directed by Liu Hao and cast primarily with unknown actors.

Two Great Sheep tells the gentle story of a peasant couple, played by Sun Yunkun and Jiang Zhikun, who are charged with caring for two foreign sheep that they must somehow breed for the community.

Liu's second film and the first under government approval, Two Great Sheep can be located as part of a broader trend of independent Chinese filmmakers switching their focuses to state-approved productions during the early years of the 21st century. Besides Liu, these years saw many of the leading figures of the "sixth-generation" turning in their first SARFT-approved productions, including Jia Zhangke (2004's The World), Zhu Wen (2004's South of the Clouds), and Wang Xiaoshuai (2005's Shanghai Dreams).

Two Great Sheep premiered at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2004.