Starring: Gong Li, Ma Jingwu, He Caifei, Cao Cuifen, Jin Shuyuan
Directed by Zhang Yimou
Written by Ni Zhen
Studio: MGM
Video: 2.35:1 Widescreen enhanced for 16:9
Audio: Mandarin, 5.1 Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Length: 125 minutes
Rating: *****
Every once in a while, there are films and directors that change our perceptions of the world around us. “Raise the Red Lantern” is one of those movies. Prior to the work of director Zhang Yimou in the late 1980s and this film in 1991, China and Hong Kong was more known for low budget martial arts movies in the West. Entertaining? Absolutely. Emotionally resonant and moving? Well, as much as I enjoy them (and I really do because they are the first foreign movies I saw as a kid, aside from Godzilla movies), not so much. Seeing profoundly powerful films from directors like Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige (“Farewell, My Concubine”) emerge from this country changed how the rest of the world saw China and its people, and it made China a significant player in the art film world.
Made in 1991, “Raise the Red Lantern” is director Zhang Yimou’s fourth film and actress Gong Li’s eighth film. They both made their debuts with the equally important “Red Sorghum” in 1987. Just last year (2006), they made “Curse of the Golden Flower” together and in fact the two films share some similarities. They both focus on relationships between men and women, and in particular they deal with the repercussions and personal costs of sexual politics.
“Raise the Red Lantern” is a story about Songlian (Gong Li), an educated young woman who decides to become the concubine of a rich man in 1920s China. She will be the Fourth Mistress of this rich man, who is never shown in full. Though his presence is felt in every aspect of the film, he is always shown from the back or in a distant profile. His face remains indistinct and unrealized throughout the film. Once in the household, Songlian must fight with other mistresses for status and the rich man’s notice and favors. The infighting becomes both subtle, complex, and brutal, and ends with tragic consequences. Gong Li’s performance is simply astounding. I think it rates as one of the shining moments in the history of cinema, displaying great depth and virtuosic restraint. The opening scene is a textbook example of how to wring the last drop of emotion out of scene with the least amount of visible effort. It’s absolutely devastating in its intensity and simplicity.
Visually, the film is a showcase for Zhang Yimou’s eye. The scenes are composed symmetrically with dominant and alternating color schemes of red and blue. Beautiful and sometimes unsettling in its austere detachment, which tends to emphasize Songlian’s isolation in this gorgeous wasteland. “Raise the Red Lantern” is a classic film and it deserves a spot in every cinema enthusiasts’ collection, though this DVD is fairly minimalistic in its approach—no extras at all, aside from scene selection and subtitle selection which most films have. Even so, this is highly recommended.
– Hermon Joyner
