Raise the Red Lantern
1991 ‘大红灯笼高高挂’ Directed by Zhang Yimou
Synopsis
China in the 1920's. After her father's death, 19 year old Songlian is forced to marry the much older lord of a powerful family. With three wives already, each living in a separate house within the great castle, there is fierce competition for his attention and the privileges that are gained. This competition gets out of hand...
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Film #2 Of The May 30 Days, 30 Countries Challenge - China
"She has the face of Buddha and the heart of a scorpion."
#77 on Berken's Favorite Movies Of All TimeI'm surprised that this isn't banned in China considering what a savage evisceration of tradition in a patriarchal society it is. Likewise, I wasn't expecting such a psychologically accurate portrayal of the moral gray area being boxed in by an inequitable tradition can drive people to. Being trapped by tradition is not unlike being stranded on an island separated from society, the film seems to argue, and just as likely to lead to cannibalism (okay, metaphorical in this case, but still).
Crucially, the film is able to allow…
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Berken's May 30 Days, 30 Countries Challenge Film nº 1 - China
Raise the Red Lantern follows a girl who accepts to be a man's fourth wife and gets caught in a web of intrigues and lies.
Although we never see anything beyond the castle grounds, the movie has beautiful shots and scenes. The soundtrack is really beautiful too and well connected with the correspondent scenes.
The movie has a slow pace, but it's never boring and the plot is interesting and show us the complex relationship between the four wives. The role and expectations of a woman in the 20's are of great importance too. The acting is really good, specially the lead actress, Gong Li.
Raise of the Red Lantern is a really good movie worth watching.
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Raise the Red Lantern was re-watched as my sixth MISTRESS-movie and also re-watched as one of my Push 10 movies of 2013.
But in the end the choice of re-watching Raise the Red Lantern this weekend is simply due to the death of Roger Ebert, and I felt it appropriate to select one of his chosen Great Movies this time around. I'll also use three quotes from his first review of the movie, the first being the same one I used for my Push 10 notes;
Yimou uses the bold, bright colors of Ju Dou again this time; his film was shot in the classic three-strip Technicolor process, now abandoned by Hollywood, which allows a richness of reds and yellows…
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Disliking any of the movies from the spring of Zhang Yimou's career is probably not kosher, critically lauded as they are, and I certainly went to this with high hopes. But man, how I struggled to get through this!
Raise the Red Lantern has wonderful cinematography, eye-wateringly beautiful art direction, gorgeous costumes, terrific actors… and a cast of truly hateful characters. A poisonous package, beautifully wrapped. Every significant character in this movie is assembled entirely from negative qualities; people in whose company I absolutely do not want to spend any time. Songlian's (Gong Li, gorgeous) resentment of her fate is admittedly understandable, but her relentlessly acid personality made it difficult to care, making Raise the Red Lantern a real chore to watch.
Too bad! Fortunately, Zhang at least went on to make great movies later that even I could love. So there's that.
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Wow! How to review this film!! The production design is stunning, the use of the camera is breathtaking, the cinematography is haunting, the performances are nuanced, subtle and it grabs you from the beginning of the film, one of the best movies I have ever seen and I'm sure this psychological masterpiece I'll stay in my head for days to come!! This review does not give this masterpiece of a film Justice!!!!
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Stunning. Both the visual impact and the soundscape were amazing. I loved this film. Gong Li is fantastic. Absolutely my favorite Zhang Yimou film.
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My new favourite film.
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Wow! How to review this film!! The production design is stunning, the use of the camera is breathtaking, the cinematography is haunting, the performances are nuanced, subtle and it grabs you from the beginning of the film, one of the best movies I have ever seen and I'm sure this psychological masterpiece I'll stay in my head for days to come!! This review does not give this masterpiece of a film Justice!!!!
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Film #2 Of The May 30 Days, 30 Countries Challenge - China
"She has the face of Buddha and the heart of a scorpion."
#77 on Berken's Favorite Movies Of All TimeI'm surprised that this isn't banned in China considering what a savage evisceration of tradition in a patriarchal society it is. Likewise, I wasn't expecting such a psychologically accurate portrayal of the moral gray area being boxed in by an inequitable tradition can drive people to. Being trapped by tradition is not unlike being stranded on an island separated from society, the film seems to argue, and just as likely to lead to cannibalism (okay, metaphorical in this case, but still).
Crucially, the film is able to allow…
-
Berken's May 30 Days, 30 Countries Challenge Film nº 1 - China
Raise the Red Lantern follows a girl who accepts to be a man's fourth wife and gets caught in a web of intrigues and lies.
Although we never see anything beyond the castle grounds, the movie has beautiful shots and scenes. The soundtrack is really beautiful too and well connected with the correspondent scenes.
The movie has a slow pace, but it's never boring and the plot is interesting and show us the complex relationship between the four wives. The role and expectations of a woman in the 20's are of great importance too. The acting is really good, specially the lead actress, Gong Li.
Raise of the Red Lantern is a really good movie worth watching.
-
Raise the Red Lantern was re-watched as my sixth MISTRESS-movie and also re-watched as one of my Push 10 movies of 2013.
But in the end the choice of re-watching Raise the Red Lantern this weekend is simply due to the death of Roger Ebert, and I felt it appropriate to select one of his chosen Great Movies this time around. I'll also use three quotes from his first review of the movie, the first being the same one I used for my Push 10 notes;
Yimou uses the bold, bright colors of Ju Dou again this time; his film was shot in the classic three-strip Technicolor process, now abandoned by Hollywood, which allows a richness of reds and yellows…
-
Stunning. Both the visual impact and the soundscape were amazing. I loved this film. Gong Li is fantastic. Absolutely my favorite Zhang Yimou film.
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Slow-paced, but amazing.
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Rebellion can take many forms.
While Zhang Yimou's later film, Hero, is also a form of resistance, it is, sadly, much milder than this masterpiece. -
Raise the Red Lantern is a depressing but captivating story of how a young girl is subjected to an oppressive hierarchy when she agrees to be the fourth wife to a rich man. The system of daily routines and traditions functions as a conditioning mechanism causing the wives to compete against each other for the favor of spending the night with their master. As the films go on we learn just how complex and brutal of a psychological game that is being played out. Gong Li is superb playing Songlian, a character who from the get go resents her fate and gives a quiet but powerful performance of a character who gets crushed under the heel of the cruel system.…