Raise the Red Lantern (1991)

Too many cooks in that kitchen....

A look at male/female relationships in the old times and the options (or lack thereof) opened to women. Yet even in such a dreary setting with limited scenery the cinematography and the costumes were brilliant. The lanterns were truly beautiful. Gong Li played her part well. June 27, 2008

Review, Raise the Red Lantern

I work in a public high school, where this was shown in a high school history class as part of a cultural literacy program of China in the early 1900's. This was a very compelling video, and led to excellent class discussions. Strongly recommended. May 31, 2008

Well made movie of a situation that could have truly happened

I enjoyed this movie very much because the actors were very good. The Story is sad and you have to realize that in every culture in the world there has been a view that women are just property. It also shows how different personalities of people co-exist together and that one needs to be careful of their words and actions so as to be able to co-exist in situations in which we can not change. May 21, 2008

Exotic and hopeless; how does one describe great sadness?

Can inevitable and hopeless sadness ever be adequately described? Maybe, but not, I think, by amateur film enthusiasts or any but a few professional critics, and only then if they can tame their professional enthusiasms, can write well and know when to stop. That leaves out, among us amateurs, nearly all of us. As for the professionals, I've read only two or three commentaries by professional film critics that I think do justice to Raise the Red Lantern. Partly, this is due to the utterly foreign, cloistered culture we're observing. Partly, it's due to the intense but withheld emotions and motivations we gradually become aware of. Mainly, I think, it's due to the fact that deep sadness simply can't be adequately described, and the more we try, the less we convey.

Songlian (Gong Li), a 19-year-old student in 1920 China, must leave college when her father dies. Her stepmother arranges for her to marry a rich man as a fourth "wife." From then, Songlian's life, everything, depends on the attention she will receive from this man we scarcely see. The first mistress is middle-aged, serene and cool. The second is attractive and appears sympathetic and friendly. The third is young, beautiful and intensely jealous that Songlian may replace her as the most favored by Master Chen. Each has a maid. The servants reflect the attitudes of those they serve, but above all else, they reflect their roles in the Master's house. Again and again we return to an overhead shot that shows us where the universe begins and ends for Songlian...a stone courtyard with stone buildings on either side and the entrance at the end of the courtyard leading up low stairs to where Songlian now will live. When the Master intends to visit one of the wives for the night, it is the custom that the servants ceremoniously raise red lanterns outside the apartment of the favored wife.

And this is all that their lives...and now, Songlian's life...consists of. There is no outside world, only their duty to serve the Master and to follow the customs of the Chen family, which goes back generations. If the red lantern is raised frequently outside Songlian's doorway, a servant tells her, she will soon be running the establishment. The other wives know this. Songlian is educated, sullen and resentful. She may realize that she must establish herself in the favor of the Master and find her place in the world of the wives, but we realize she may not have the guile needed. The intensity of establishing and maintaining "place" means resentments and betrayals. There can be no friendships. Songlian does not play this game well. Songlian's life eventually becomes as desolate as the cold snow that drifts down into the courtyard.

Raise the Red Lantern is a gorgeous movie, as are most of Yimou Zhang's films. The seasons change from spring to summer to fall and to winter. We keep returning to Songlian and to the view of the courtyard, but we also see out over what seems the endless tile roofs of the Master's mansion. High on the roof is a small stone shed that is kept locked and which, it is whispered, had something to do with a former wife.

At first the stone exteriors seem small and the interiors seem to go on and on. We see Songlian dressed lavishly to await the Master's visits. We see ornate furniture, wall scrolls, braziers against the chill and the red lanterns. We seldom see tears. Raise the Red Lantern is no tragedy, but it is a kind of slow-playing, hopeless melodrama. It is a reserved world where for these four women and their servants, everything depends on the Master. For Songlian, everything depends on her willingness to bend completely to this life from which she cannot leave, and to accept that there can be no relief from the need to scheme and plot to maintain a position against the other wives. To befriend can lead to betrayal. To sympathize can lead to rejection. To let slip a secret can lead to death. The customs of the ancient Chen family must be honored and followed, and can be cruel. To serve the Master whenever he wishes, with skill and charm, and to bear him a son, is what life has become, and there is no escape. The Master's life goes on. Our last view of Songlian is in the courtyard, in winter, wandering.

Anyone who reads this should shake their head and wonder what all the fuss is about. Get the movie and watch it, then you try to describe it. You'll feel inadequate.

This MGM World Films disc is widescreen, dual layer and looks much better than a previous release. I could find nothing that would indicate it is anamorphic. There are no extras. The subtitles are white with black edging and are easy to read. Raise the Red Lantern deserves first-class treatment, but this will have to do until that happens. May 10, 2008

Zhang Yimou and Gong Li's First US Hit

Gong Li and Zhang Yimou have made eight films together. This is their forth film and was their first hit film in the US.

RRL takes place during the 1920's prior to the communist revolution. Chen Zuogian is a wealthy landowner. Songlian is his newest bride. But she has to compete with his three prior wives. Each night he has to choose the wife that he will spend the night. At the choosen wife's home, the red latern is raised.

Each wife schemes to make her home the one that is choosen and do what is necessary to disgrace the others.

This is a great film and period piece of China's pre-communist era. This was the duo's follow-up to Ju Duo and Gong Li shows her star power. This film is stunning in it's cinematography and art direction. May 9, 2008

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