Monsieur Flynn’s review published on Letterboxd:
For the Zhang Yimou/Gong Li-collaboration this movie is just their test run for their later masterpiece within the same themes, as they soon perfected it for Raise the Red Lantern. Thankfully --in their case-- a test run might still be somewhat of an achievement on its own.
I'm obviously partial. I love me some Gong Li. I can't remember ever watching a performance by her that didn't impress me, and the girl's got beauty to match her talent. I also love me some Zhang Yimou. Even in his lesser works, there's so many utterly beautiful shots to enjoy. Cinematography rarely look as good as when Yimou is making movies. And collaborating they seem to have had an early higher understanding of their mutual goals to achieve with each movie they made, making their movies grow on each-others best qualities.
Here they take us back to the 20's, give us an interesting tale about forbidden love squashed by cultural traditions passed on through centuries, and adds flavor with great acting and some exquisite use of the dry mill location. There's a couple of shots in this movie I'll remember forever; so utterly beautiful they almost physically hurt considering the parts of the story they're in.
Ju Dou isn't perfect. Actually quite far from, and still it's so well done I relish the time spent with title-character Ju Dou. There's just so many highlights to overshadow its --in comparison-- minor problems.
Ju Dou was watched as the sixth of my TOTGA-movies.