Red sorghum is the sort of scenic, romantic, violent, symbolic melodrama that flowered in the early years of the cinema. Lyrical, colorful, and disturbing, red sorghum is a powerful novel that takes place during one of the darkest periods of chinese history, which is the japanese invasion of the 1930s. An academic analysis of zhang yimous award winning debut. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. The critically acclaimed epicwhich won the golden bear at the berlin film festivalstarred gong li as a woman sold into marriage. Red may dominate zhangs palette, most notably in the climactic sequence in which jiuers blood mingles with the wine and trickles into the sorghum field as an eclipse bathes the entire scene in. Written by chen jianyu, zhu wei, and mo yan, based on the novel red sorghum clan by mo yan. Director zhang received ten thousand letters accusing him of treason when red sorghum was released, yet the movie houses showing the film in china were packed. Oct 09, 1988 red sorghum, which won the golden bear as the best film shown at this years berlin film festival, is an exotic fable, related by an unseen soundtrack narrator who identifies himself as the. Zhangs experience as a cinematographer makes sure that the film is no less than ravishing in its sensual use of color.
Yimou zhang, li gong, wen jiang, rujun ten, zhigang chen, kun dong, guoguang du, xiaoguang hu, liu jia, cunhua ji, yimou zhang, categoryarthouse, categoryasia, festival berlin international film festival, film movie china chinese, film movie foreign, red sorghum hong gao liang het rode korenveld, red. Red sorghum film, a 1987 chinese film based on mo yans novel. Gong subsequently appeared in a number of zhangs films, including ju dou 1990, a drama about a woman in a loveless. Red sorghum is a film that depicts the need for a revolution and liberation. In red sorghum, for example, there is a famous creative manipulation of point of view, with the narrator supplying knowledge and responses from his grandparents that he could not possibly know, and the republic of wine abandons realistic narrative all together to juxtapose mo yan as a character within the novel who discusses novel writing. For this film, zhang employed gu changwei, another talented cinematographer who went on to become a remarkable director himself. At the start of the film, juer is forcefully betrothed to a man she does not love.
Zhang yimou seeks to critique the cold rigidity of modernization by contrasting it with a period lush yet simple enough to enjoy and experience. However, its just not on the level of the best films from zhang, proving a frustratingly slow watch that doesnt always have the depth to really enthrall you, and thats why im giving it a. Zhang yimous fourth film, raise the red lantern, is the last of a trilogy red sorghum 1987 and judou 1990 are earlier instalments that is deeply critical of confucianism and chinese culture. Oct 11, 2012 that astonishing essay becomes all the more relevant in the cinematic context that first brought mos name to light here, the 1988 release of zhang yimous film red sorghum, based on mo. The narrator tells the story of his familys struggles, first as distillery owners making sorghum wine and then as resistance fighters during the second sinojapanese war.
The sorghum is a symbol of fortitude, and a continuation of life. With this book i respectfully invoke the heroic, aggrieved souls wandering in the boundless brightred sorghum fields of my hometown. The power of zhang yimous metaphors and colour symbolism. It is accustomed in red sorghum clan released in 1987. Wang yuejin reads the characters of red sorghum as answering a longfelt lack of.
It is based on the novel red sorghum clan by nobel laureate mo yan. The power of zhang yimous metaphors and colour symbolism in. As a film, it is a stunning example of storytelling and propaganda. As your unfilial son, i am prepared to carve out my heart, marinate it in soy sauce, have it minced and placed in three bowls, and lay it out as an offering in a field of sorghum. Red sorghum was written by a famous chinese writer mo yan between 1920s and 1930s. Analysis of red sorghum when zhang yimou made his directorial debut, zhang yimou made his directorial debut, red sorghum, in 1987, he was better known as a cinematographer whose talent had been crucial to the success of critically acclaimed films like zhang junzhaos one and eight 1984, released 1987 and chen kaiges yellow earth 1984. With peng chi, tina collins, tongsheng han, xuan huang. The power of zhang yimous metaphors and colour symbolism in raise the red lantern 1991 dccff 2017 when we speak of zhang yimou, a leading light of chinas socalled fifth generation of filmmakers, many people immediately conjure up sumptuous imagery from the directors more commercially successful titles like red sorghum 1987, hero 2002 and house of the flying daggers 2004.
Red sorghum tv series, a 2014 chinese tv series based on mo yans novel. Gong li getting a rough ride in more ways than one as shes transported to her new husband. The film director yimou zhang shows this need for liberation through the life of a young woman called juer, the primary character in the movie. Jun 14, 2006 red may dominate zhangs palette, most notably in the climactic sequence in which jiuers blood mingles with the wine and trickles into the sorghum field as an eclipse bathes the entire scene in. Red sorghum is marked by its strong male subjectivity, making it in this was a counterpart to some of the womens cinema films. A westerners reflection on mo yan world literature today. A new generation of chinese audiences were hungry for a film that expressed the moral ambiguity and the sense of chafing under authority that they themselves were beginning to feel. It was later filmed in 1988, where zhang yimou directed it. Red sorghum can be aptly described as a film involved in a deep questioning and searching for roots. I was at the book fair in frankfurt when the nobel prize for literature 2012 was announced. As she is being carried over the sorghum fields, bandits attack and she is rescued by a laborer wen jiang, with whom she has a son the narrator.
As she is being carried over the sorghum fields, bandits attack and she is rescued by a laborer wen. Red sorghum s plot revolves around three generations of the shandong family between 1923 and 1976. Red sorghum is one of the books i once started, but didnt finish, a book with multiple timelines that reach back to the time when japan invaded china. The film s concentrated focus on folk culture tells a story or even a legend, as the film itself suggests of the narrators grandparents.
The red sorghum novel community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. A novel of china or red sorghum clan simplified chinese. The iron society flees and little foot jiang is shot in the foot by granddad. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of red sorghum by mo yan. The fact that it was made in 1988, and shot in china in cinemascope and color, doesnt make it a modern film, but that is quite all right.
An academic analysis of zhang yimous award winning debut feature red sorghum countryside in shen congwens xiaxiao, border town and mo yans red sorghum the sequences in the films red sorghum and the road home the comparison and analysis of sequences directors cinematic vision in films how post 1949 film and literature. Mo yans debut novel and first us publication was the basis of a 1988 oscarnominated film. Red sorghum nr by hal hinson washington post staff writer october 21, 1988 in the opening moments of the new chinese film red sorghum, the folkloric expansiveness of the imagery makes. Pocky leng and his troops then become involved in the gunfire. The result is a lifeaffirming film that functions as a shallow critique of contemporary chinese life. No film had a more startling effect in the west than yimous raise the red lantern, which rushed gong li, a star after red sorghum and ju dou, into the superstar league. Local hero, in film comment, septemberoctober 1995. The film marked the directorial debut of internationally acclaimed filmmaker zhang yimou, and the acting debut of film star gong li. Red sorghum quotes showing 126 of 26 finally, she mused that human existence is as brief as the life of autumn grass, so what was there to fear from taking chances with your life. There is a strength in the simplicity of this story, in the almost fairytale quality of its images and the shocking suddenness of its. The film was banned in its home country and never made it to the silver screen in china.
It is the latest triumph of chinas most renowned filmmaker, whose 1988 debut feature, red sorghum, won international acclaim and whose ju dou 1990 and raise the red lantern. Sorghum bicolor, a grass usually cultivated for food. A powerful new voice on the brutal unrest of rural china in the late 20s and 30s. The power of zhang yimous metaphors and colour symbolism in raise the red lantern 1991 dccff 2017 when we speak of zhang yimou, a leading light of chinas socalled fifth generation of filmmakers, many people immediately conjure up sumptuous imagery from the directors more commercially successful titles like red sorghum 1987, hero 2002 and. After a series of films studying rural areas and living in them, director zhang yimou was given permission by novelist mo yan to film a carte blanche adaptation of red sorghum. That said, the book red sorghum is mo yans attempt to face memory in the first person. Jiuer, the wife bought by the leper, and her lover, identified only as my grandpa by the narrator, take over the winery and set up an idealized quasimatriarchal community headed by jiuer. Another climax 1941 grandmas funeral is interrupted by an attack from the jiaogao regiment. Mar 26, 2018 overall, there are elements of red sorghum that are undoubtedly praiseworthy, from its thrilling visuals to strong directing and impressive acting. Red sorghumthis is a heroic legend, unfolded with verve and economy, a celebration of love, community and eccentricity, writes philip french.
Published in 1986, red sorghum is a magical realism novel written by. Red sorghum is a 1987 chinese film about a young womans life working on a distillery for sorghum liquor. Red sorghum, which won the golden bear as the best film shown at this years berlin film festival, is an exotic fable, related by an unseen soundtrack narrator who identifies himself as the. Dec 03, 2012 red sorghum has been justly celebrated for its visual quality.
Young jiuer gong li is sent by her parents to marry an old leper who owns a distillery. I didnt realize until id grown up that northeast gaomi township. Set in the northern province of shandong during the 1920s and early 30s, a young bride, on her way to a prearranged future with the leprous owner of a wine distillery, avoids rape and then. Chen jianyu, zhu wei based on the books by mo yan phot. Red sorghum, is a novel that was published in 1986 written by mo yan. Red sorghum nr by hal hinson washington post staff writer october 21, 1988 in the opening moments of the new chinese film red sorghum, the folkloric expansiveness of. Hong gaoliang is a chinese film based on a novel by mo yanaward winner of 2012 nobel prize in literature directed by the great chinese director zhang yimou. The beautiful love story takes place in a rural village of shandong province in 1935. There is a strength in the simplicity of this story, in the almost fairytale quality of its images and the shocking. The films concentrated focus on folk culture tells a story or even a legend, as the film itself suggests of the narrators grandparents. This film was a great promotion of red sorghum novel and was one of the best applauded movies internationally. Ye, tan, from the fifth to the sixth generation interview, in film quarterly, winter 1999. The red in the title refers both to the communist party, and to all the blood that was shed.
A sorghum farmer and his bride who develop a successful family business. When red sorghum was released in 1988, it attained immediate fame and success, both in its chinese. Yimou zhang, li gong, wen jiang, rujun ten, zhigang chen, kun dong, guoguang du, xiaoguang hu, liu jia, cunhua ji, yimou zhang, categoryarthouse, categoryasia, festival berlin international film festival, film movie china chinese, film movie foreign, red sorghum hong gao liang het rode korenveld, red sorghum, hong gao liang, het rode korenveld. Red sorghum is an incredibly successful film that utilizes sound, image, and pacing to deliver a beautiful and ideological product.
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