The Treatment刮痧 ~ Chinese Movies&TV

Today let’s take a brief introduction of a famous Chinese movie named “The Treatment”.The film “The Treatment” takes the misunderstanding aroused by the traditional Chinese treatment guasha (skin scraping) as the story line, reflecting the predicament the overseas Chinese plunging into due to the culture conflicts. The story comes to a happy ending with the predicament finally broken through thanks to the sincerity and love between people. The thought-provoking film is one of the best Chinese films that promote cultural understandings between the East and the West.

Grandfather Xu comes from China to visit the family of his son, Datong Xu (Tony Leung), in St. Louis. While there, he gives his grandson, Dennis Xu (Dennis Zhu), a treatment of Gua Sha to treat a slight fever (being unable to read English labels of medicine). The authorities, however, mistake the harmless traditional Chinese medical treatment for child abuse due to the obvious marks left on Dennis’ back. The family goes through hell when the child is taken away by the child protection agency. Meanwhile, Grandfather Xu leaves America because he finds that the living environment is really not suitable for him, as he feels that a simple, harmless treatment like Gua Sha, which is so common in China, is treated as child abuse in America. Furthermore, he cannot converse in English. An American friend of the father, Benton Davis (Joe Erker), tries gua sha and proves that the treatment leaves painful-looking marks that are not actually painful or harmful at all. Finally, the child is able to return home and the family is reunited.

刮痧guā shā：meaning “scraping sha-bruises”, is a traditional Chinese medical treatment in which the skin is scraped to produce light bruising. Practitioners believe gua sha releases unhealthy elements from injured areas and stimulates blood flow and healing.