Red Sorghum [Hong gao liang] ***** (1988, Gong Li, Jiang Wen, Teng Rujun) – Classic Movie Review 7878

Director Zhang Yimou’s dazzlingly brilliant 1988 Red Sorghum [Hong gao liang] is a masterly epic drama from China that charts the life of a teenage bride (Gong Li), from her wedding in the 1930s up to the Japanese invasion of China 10 years later when her small rural community’s life is shattered by horror and atrocities.

Established cinematographer (Yellow Earth, The Big Parade) but first-time director Yimou switches from eccentric comedy to tragedy with consummate skill, helped by an impeccable cast, with Gong Li outstanding in her first film role.

Red Sorghum is filmed with a real feel for the land (sorghum is a versatile Chinese crop) and a painterly eye for colour, texture and setting. Running only 91 minutes, it is not epic in length, however, only in ambition, scale and achievement.

It is the winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1988.

Also in the cast are Jiang Wen, Teng Rujun, Liu Ji, Qian Ming, Ji Chunhua and  Zhai Chunhua.

The director and star also collaborated on Ju Dou [Judou] (1990) and Raise the Red Lantern [Da hong deng long gao gao gua] (1991).

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7878

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