Ju Dou [Judou] **** (1990, Gong Li, Li Wei, Zhang Yi) – Classic Movie Review 7880

Director Zhang Yimou’s 1990 film Ju Dou [Judou] is an engrossing Chinese-Japanese drama about an old man, a dye maker called Yang Jin-shan (Li Wei), coping with his gorgeous, young flirtatious new wife Ju Dou (the luminous Gong Li) in rural China. She dangerously attracts the eye and passions of the old man’s nephew, Yang Tian-qing (Li Baotian), conceiving a boy with him. The dye maker is both brutal and infertile.

Director Zhang Yimou, who made his debut as director with Red Sorghum, the Golden Bear winner at the 1988 Berlin International Film Festival, sets his story in a dye factory and makes astonishing use of the rich palette of colours set before him. He films the tale as a series of almost painterly tableaux, which confirms his reputation as one of the pictorial masters of modern cinema.

The screenplay by Liu Heng is based on the novella by Liu Heng. It is billed as an erotic tale of forbidden passion.

It was nominated for a 1991 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

The director and star also collaborated on Red Sorghum (1988) and Raise the Red Lantern [Da hong deng long gao gao gua] (1991).

Ju Dou was restored in 2017 by French company Impex Films, with support from Arte France and Hiventy.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7880

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