Red Sorghum (film)
| Red Sorghum | |
|---|---|
Chinese movie poster
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| Traditional | |
| Simplified | |
| Mandarin | Hóng gāoliáng |
| Literally | red sorghum |
| Directed by | Zhang Yimou |
| Produced by | Wu Tianming |
| Written by |
Chen Jianyu Zhu Wei Novel: Mo Yan |
| Starring |
Gong Li Jiang Wen Teng Rujun |
| Music by | Zhao Jiping |
| Cinematography | Gu Changwei |
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Production
company |
Xi'an Film Studio
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Release date
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Running time
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95 minutes |
| Country | China |
| Language | Mandarin |
Red Sorghum is a 1987 Chinese film about a young woman's life working on a distillery for sorghum liquor. It is based on the novel Red Sorghum Clan by Nobel laureate Mo Yan.
The film marked the directorial debut of internationally acclaimed filmmaker Zhang Yimou, and the acting debut of film star Gong Li. With its lush and lusty portrayal of peasant life, it immediately vaulted Zhang to the forefront of the Fifth Generation directors. The film won the Golden Bear Award at Berlin Film Festival.
The film takes place in a rural village in China's eastern province of Shandong during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It is narrated from the point of view of the protagonist’s grandson, who reminisces about his grandmother, Jiu'er (S: 九儿, T: 九兒, P: Jiǔ'ér). She was a poor girl who was sent by her parents into a pre-arranged marriage with an old man, Li Datou, who owns a distillery.
As Jiu'er's wedding party crosses a field of sorghum, they are attacked by a bandit; however, one of the men hired to carry Jiu'er's sedan chair manages to fight off the assailant. After Jiu'er safely reaches the distillery, her rescuer disappears, only to return on Jiu'er's trip back to her parents' village. He jumps out of the sorghum field, and after chasing down Jiu'er, carries her off into the sorghum stalks, where he rapes her.
At the distillery, it is discovered that Li Datou has died of mysterious causes, leading many of the distillery's workers to suspect murder. Nothing is proven, however, and since Jiu'er's late husband was without heir, it is she who takes ownership of the distillery, which has recently fallen on hard times. She inspires the workers to take new pride in their wine, and once again meets her rescuer. He arrives, drunk, and tries to claim her, loudly insisting to the group of men accompanying him that he is going to share her bed. When he enters the bedroom, however, she angrily tosses him out. The other men on the scene carry him away, sticking him in a vat of liquor where he remains for the next three days. Meanwhile, a group of bandits kidnap Jiu'er, forcing the distillery workers to pay a ransom for her freedom.
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