Raise The Red Lantern - a short review
In an attempt to relieve my boredom at work today somewhat, I decided to bring in a film to watch. I’ve got quite a few films I bought and then never got around to watching, so I was well overdue to watch Raise The Red Lantern, a film from director Yimou Zhang. If I remember correctly, I bought this film because it was rated by others and starred Gong Li (see below). Voted “Most beautiful woman in China” in 2006 (no mean feat in a country with over 1.2bn people), Gong Li is a hugely underrated actress in my opinion. Western audiences will probably know her best as Hatsumomo in Memoirs of a Geisha, but she has been in many other films and is well established in China.
But onto the film itself. Raise The Red Lantern is set in 1920s China and revolves around Songlian (Li) as a 19-year old girl who has recently lost her father. Dropping out of university, she decides to marry into wealth, but has an indifference to becoming a concubine. She becomes “Fourth Mistress” in the Chen household and acquires a maid who works for her, albeit secretly dreaming herself of one day becoming a mistress to the master of the house. Being close to the master means more power, and there is strong competition between the wives. Each night, the master chooses who he will spend the night with, and lanterns are lit in the chosen Mistress’s house. As the competition becomes more fierce, the story takes a number of surprising and deceptive turns.
I’m not a great one for reviewing music and films as I’m never so sure about what to say. But what I will say is this: the critics were not wrong in saying that this was one of the films of the 90s. Very different in its story and its style to Hollywood films, both the cinematography and the acting (especially by Li) are stunning. The vibrant colours that Zhang uses in contrast to the greys and darks of the background is really beautiful. And if you want to see this in its best possible quality, look around for the “Re-mastered” DVD version. And the final scenes leave you heartbroken and amazed. The film was banned for some time in China following its release, most likely because of comparisons that could be made between the characters in the film and society within China & the corruption that is prevalent there.
If you get even the slightest chance, check this film out. I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed and it could open your eyes up to more Chinese cinema. A big 5 out of 5 from me for this one.
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