Red sorghum is a 1987 chinese film about a young womans life working on a distillery for. The film was banned in its home country and never made it to the silver screen in china. But within the rigid chinese feudal society depicted by ju dou, that is not quite the case. The power of zhang yimous metaphors and colour symbolism. The woman lives a life full of misfortunes with liquor playing a major role in the whole film. The film director yimou zhang shows this need for liberation through the life of a young woman called juer, the primary character in the movie. Local hero, in film comment, septemberoctober 1995. As your unfilial son, i am prepared to carve out my heart, marinate it in soy sauce, have it minced and placed in three bowls, and lay it out as an offering in a field of sorghum. The lighting of the red lanterns suggests power and status for the wives because whoever wins the. It is based on two mo yans novels, and its the first of a trilogy in which the director focuses on the analysis of the womans figure. New york film festival premieres hong gao liang red sorghum on its. Set in the 1920 and early 30s, this lush film seems almost timeless. Sex, it is said, is the only luxury with which the poor are as well supplied as the rich. With peng chi, tina collins, tongsheng han, xuan huang.
Red sorghum is a film that depicts the need for a revolution and liberation. Zhang yimous fourth film, raise the red lantern, is the last of a trilogy red sorghum 1987 and judou 1990 are earlier instalments that is deeply critical of confucianism and chinese culture. Compare mo yans red sorghum with zhang yimous film. Abundantly illustrated with chinese paintings as well as scenes from such internationally acclaimed films as yellow earth, red sorghum, raise the red lantern and farewell my concubine, china into film reveals a cinematic form at once excitingly new and deeply imbedded in traditional chinese visual culture. Red sorghum tells of the life between a woman, the narrators grandmother and the narrators grandfather. I didnt realize until id grown up that northeast gaomi township. Click download or read online button to get red sorghum book now.
Zhangs experience as a cinematographer makes sure that the film is no less than ravishing in its sensual use of color. The power of zhang yimous metaphors and colour symbolism in. In this film, the mans son narrates the story of a mans mother. Yimou zhang, li gong, wen jiang, rujun ten, zhigang chen, kun dong, guoguang du, xiaoguang hu, liu jia, cunhua ji, yimou zhang, categoryarthouse, categoryasia, festival berlin international film festival, film movie china chinese, film movie foreign, red sorghum hong gao liang het rode korenveld, red sorghum, hong gao liang, het rode korenveld. That astonishing essay becomes all the more relevant in the cinematic context that first brought mos name to light here, the 1988 release of zhang yimous film red sorghum, based on mo. Mo yans groundup depiction of mo yans novels are often praised because they depict the history of. As she is being carried over the sorghum fields, bandits attack and she is rescued by a laborer wen jiang, with whom she has a son the narrator. Where red sorghum had been an accepted film that brought international awards home to china, zhangs next films ju dou and raise the red lantern, for example were banned in his own country, though they were popular around the world. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of red sorghum by mo yan. This novel began as a short story published in 1986, so well received that it later was expanded into five chapters and published as a family saga in 1987, by the peoples liberation army publishing house, beijing. I will also argue that mo yans red sorghum 1986 is especially valuable for probing the western response to his work and chinese literature, owing to the significance of this novel in his production overall, the books grand scope, and the western attention that the. Aesthetically, this film beats most of the american films which use cgi or any kind of digital technology to make their films look great. Sorghum bicolor, a grass usually cultivated for food. In 1994, zhang was forbidden to make films for five years.
Red sorghum has been justly celebrated for its visual quality. Its breathtaking color cinematography cannot mask the. Red sorghum flawed despite striking imagery and cinematography. Paul clark, a scholar on chinese film, writes that the images of china in fifth generation films reflect a profoundly ambivalent nationalism. Red may dominate zhangs palette, most notably in the climactic sequence in which jiuers blood mingles with the wine and trickles into the sorghum field as. Proudly recalling the heroic exploits of his grandparents, the firstperson narrator begins the story of his family in the year 1939, when his. The plot focuses on a young bride, jiuer, who is sold to a distillery owner. A legend in china, where it won major literary awards and inspired an oscarnominated film directed by zhang yimou, red sorghum is a book in which fable and history collide to produce fiction that is entirely newand unforgettable. It is based on the novel red sorghum clan by nobel laureate mo yan the film marked the directorial debut of internationally acclaimed filmmaker zhang yimou, and the acting debut of film star gong li.
No film had a more startling effect in the west than yimous raise the red lantern, which rushed gong li, a star after red sorghum and ju dou, into the superstar league. Young jiuer gong li is sent by her parents to marry an old leper who owns a distillery. It is accustomed in red sorghum clan released in 1987. Red sorghum film, a 1987 chinese film based on mo yans novel. The films concentrated focus on folk culture tells a story or even a legend, as the film itself suggests of the narrators grandparents. In 1988 zhang yimou made his directorial debut with red sorghum, the first chinese film gaining international support. Mar 30, 2000 no film had a more startling effect in the west than yimous raise the red lantern, which rushed gong li, a star after red sorghum and ju dou, into the superstar league.
It was later filmed in 1988, where zhang yimou directed it. Dec 03, 2012 red sorghum has been justly celebrated for its visual quality. Red sorghum nr by hal hinson washington post staff writer october 21, 1988 in the opening moments of the new chinese film red sorghum, the folkloric expansiveness of the imagery makes. With this book i respectfully invoke the heroic, aggrieved souls wandering in the boundless brightred sorghum fields of my hometown. Zhang yimou seeks to critique the cold rigidity of modernization by contrasting it with a period lush yet simple enough to enjoy and experience. The sorghum is a symbol of fortitude, and a continuation of life. Red sorghum, is a novel that was published in 1986 written by mo yan. Gong li getting a rough ride in more ways than one as shes transported to her new husband.
The red sorghum novel community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. It is the latest triumph of chinas most renowned filmmaker, whose 1988 debut feature, red sorghum, won international acclaim and whose ju dou 1990 and raise the red lantern. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Red sorghum might be the best chinese film ive ever seen. Analysis of red sorghum analysis of red sorghum when zhang yimou made his directorial debut, zhang yimou made his directorial debut, red sorghum, in 1987, he was better known as a cinematographer whose talent had been crucial to the success of critically acclaimed films like zhang junzhaos one and eight 1984, released 1987 and chen kaiges yellow earth 1984.
Lyrical, colorful, and disturbing, red sorghum is a powerful novel that takes place during one of the darkest periods of chinese history, which is the japanese invasion of the 1930s. Red sorghum is an incredibly successful film that utilizes sound, image, and pacing to deliver a beautiful and ideological product. Mo yans groundup depiction of mo yans novels are often praised because they depict the history of chinas last six or so decades from the ground up. It is based on the novel red sorghum clan by nobel laureate mo yan. The confusion ethics of raise the red lantern senses. This film was a great promotion of red sorghum novel and was one of the best applauded movies internationally. Pocky leng and his troops then become involved in the gunfire. Red sorghum is a 1988 film whose theme revolves around the life of woman. An academic analysis of zhang yimous award winning debut feature red sorghum countryside in shen congwens xiaxiao, border town and mo yans red sorghum the sequences in the films red sorghum and the road home the comparison and analysis of sequences directors cinematic vision in films how post 1949 film and literature.
A westerners reflection on mo yan world literature today. The iron society flees and little foot jiang is shot in the foot by granddad. Compare mo yans red sorghum with zhang yimous film adaption. Gong subsequently appeared in a number of zhangs films, including ju dou 1990, a drama about a woman in a loveless marriage. Red sorghum is a novel that is set in mo yans shandong hometown of northeast gaomi township. Following the owners unexpected death, jiuer inherits the distillery.
Red sorghum, zhang yimous new chinese film, begins very prettily, and with something of the hohoho joviality exhibited by the members. Directed by zheng xiaolong, it also features the highly anticipated return of actress zhou xun to television after 10 years. The movie, which is set in the 1920s but might as well be set a century earlier, tells the story of a wealthy old textile man who marries a juicy young bride and hires a desperate young nephew and enslaves both. While red is used to symbolize passion and revolutionary spirit in red sorghum, it takes on a much more sinister meaning in raise the red lantern. Oct 09, 1988 red sorghum, zhang yimous new chinese film, begins very prettily, and with something of the hohoho joviality exhibited by the members of the chorus in a stock production of the student. Red sorghum available for download and read online in other formats. Red sorghumthis is a heroic legend, unfolded with verve and economy, a celebration of love, community and eccentricity, writes philip french. Red sorghum tv series, a 2014 chinese tv series based on mo yans novel. The fact that it was made in 1988, and shot in china in cinemascope and color, doesnt make it a modern film, but that is quite all right. Red sorghum was written by a famous chinese writer mo yan between 1920s and 1930s. The critically acclaimed epicwhich won the golden bear at the berlin film festivalstarred gong li as a woman sold into marriage.
Analysis of red sorghum when zhang yimou made his directorial debut, zhang yimou made his directorial debut, red sorghum, in 1987, he was better known as a cinematographer whose talent had been crucial to the success of critically acclaimed films like zhang junzhaos one and eight 1984, released 1987 and chen kaiges yellow earth 1984. Ye, tan, from the fifth to the sixth generation interview, in film quarterly, winter 1999. Jun 14, 2006 red may dominate zhangs palette, most notably in the climactic sequence in which jiuers blood mingles with the wine and trickles into the sorghum field as an eclipse bathes the entire scene in. The confusion ethics of raise the red lantern senses of. The film marked the directorial debut of internationally acclaimed filmmaker zhang yimou, and the acting debut of film star gong li. The series chronicles the struggles of the protagonist jiuer played by zhou in rural shandong province in early 1930s. Red sorghum is the sort of scenic, romantic, violent, symbolic melodrama that flowered in the early years of the cinema. Particularly striking is the films use of red, which zhang frequently claims is his favorite. In the case of red sorghum, a 1987novel that zhang yimou famously turned into a film, the historical background is the resistance against japanese occupiers. The film s concentrated focus on folk culture tells a story or even a legend, as the film itself suggests of the narrators grandparents. Another climax 1941 grandmas funeral is interrupted by an attack from the jiaogao regiment. Red sorghum can be aptly described as a film involved in a deep questioning and searching for roots.
Relating the story of a peasant family, the novel is about the hardships, love, hatred, and adventures of the peasants of shandong. Red sorghum is a 1987 chinese film about a young womans life working on a distillery for sorghum liquor. When red sorghum was released in 1988, it attained immediate fame and success, both in its chinese homeland and around the. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Published in 1986, red sorghum is a magical realism novel written by. For this film, zhang employed gu changwei, another talented cinematographer who went on to become a remarkable director himself.
At the start of the film, juer is forcefully betrothed to a man she does not love. Spared an arranged marriage with a leprous winery owner, jiuer gong li has a son with one of her bridal palanquin bearers jiang wen and together they. An academic analysis of zhang yimous award winning debut. So when the 1988 new york film festival premieres hong gao liang red sorghum on its prestigious closing night and donald ritchie compares it to kurosawas rashomon, one cannot help but assume that the seminal chinese film has finally arrived. With its lush and lusty portrayal of peasant life, it immediately vaulted zhang to the. There is a strength in the simplicity of this story, in the almost fairytale quality of its images and the shocking suddenness of its. The woman is a bridetobe enroute to an arranged marriage when she is sved from a bandit attack by one of her bearers.
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