Review of Raise the Red Lantern (1991) by Paul J — 15 Jun 2013
The film that put Yimou and Gong Li in the public's eye. A powerful indictment on the treatment of women. It's a visually immaculate film with incredible performances. The sounds are equally essential - the flute (representing the freedom that she could never have), the foot massage, the opera singing, all of which haunt the film.
It deals with sexual enslavement, in fact, it's all about sexual politics. The mansion is like a prison compound - the camerawork like a straight-jacket. The film was banned in China, perhaps because the subtext - the customs of the house are like the laws of the government.
It can easily be interpreted as an attack on the political system. It's also brilliant how the Master of the house is always visually obscured. It would have been too easy to have him be the mean antagonist.
But it's the customs, rules and tradition that are the main problems. Interestingly, Hou Hsiao-hsien produced the film. Ultimately, it's true tragedy. Having a character be a victim is one thing but having them assist in the dark and cynical system is tragedy at its harshest.
This review of Raise the Red Lantern (1991) was written by Paul J on 15 Jun 2013.
Raise the Red Lantern has generally received very positive reviews.
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