1988's Red Sorghum was part of the first wave of fifth generation directors. While I don't think this is one of the best films Zhang Yimou has directed, it definitely is a good one. Its plot has some striking similarities with his later films Ju Dou and Raise the Red Lantern, seeing as all three movies deal with Gong Li being married to a (rich) man.Gong Li is pretty good in this film, although maybe not as memorable as some of her other parts. Jiang Wen's character is by far the most interesting character from the movie to me. He is somewhat of a scoundrel, starting off as a somewhat morally gray man. As the film progresses, he grows closer to Gong Li's character.The last part of the movie deals with the Second Sino-Japanese War and the invasion of the Imperial Japanese Army. Up to this point, the film has been relatively light to digest. However, the last part adds drama by depicting some of the horrors that the occupation brought with it.The film's end is definitely one of the highlights here. I won't spoil it, but it makes a great case of why Zhang Yimou is often referred to as the 'Master of Color'. It's nothing short of amazing.In conclusion, while I definitely like this film, it does miss some of the drive and drama that are present in Zhang's best films. Besides the amazing ending, the movie just didn't blow me away. What it did do was paint a convincing image of life in rural China during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

It's 1930s China. Jiu'er (Li Gong) is sent by her father to marry the leper winery owner Li Datou. On the way there, there are fields of red sorghum growing wild. She goes home to deliver the mule from Li Datou. She is taken out into the fields by Luohan where they have sex. Li Datou is killed by an unknown assailant and the winery is left to Jiu'er. Luohan returns drunk and making demands on her. He is thrown out. After he sobers up, he urinates into the wine and picks her up like in the field into her home. Surprisingly, the urine wine turns out to be the best ever. That night Luohan leaves and Jiu'er has a child. Nine years later, Luohan returns and the Japanese arrive.It starts off as a funny quirky film. It has moments of originality. When the Japanese come, the movie goes to another gear and another level. It's jarring and compelling. The red color infiltrates everything like the film itself is bleeding. Li Gong makes a terrific debut. The final orgy of violence is shocking.

The much heralded renaissance of New Chinese Cinema can be an acquired taste to many Western filmgoers, but this handsome period piece (directed by the cinematographer of 'Yellow Earth', 1984) is livelier and more accessible than most. Part folk tale, part historical drama, it tells the story of a young virgin (sold by her father into marriage with a wealthy leper, in return for a mule), who after her husband's mysterious death continues to run his successful vineyard, with help from her loyal wedding bearers. And yet for all its undeniable physical beauty and colorful action the film can be a dry experience, at least until the outbreak of the second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s. With the Japanese occupation some emotional urgency finally breaks through the film's mantle of reserve, which up to that point had marked even the more bawdy episodes of communal singing and drinking.

I have been a fan of Zhang Yimou's films since 1999 when I first watched his 1991 film Raise The Red Lantern for my East Asian Novel class, and since then I have watched several other of his films such as Not One Less, To Live, The Road Home, Happy Times, and Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. Each one of his films brings something new to the table and delves into such issues as urban/rural conflicts, political corruption, and Japan-China relations. Red Sorghum is Zhang Yimou's first film as a director and while it may be a bit simpler than many of his later films it contains elements that almost every fan of his films will be familiar with: beautiful settings, very fleshed out characters, and moments of conflict where those who possess little power are overwhelmed by larger forces. Also, Red Sorghum is Gong Li first film, and it is nice to see that even at such a young age, 21, that she already possessed on screen charisma that can really grip the viewer's heart. While not as masterful as her performances in To Live or Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine, her tears and iron core are still quite moving.Based on Mo Yan's novel of the same name, Red Sorghum tells the story of a young girl nicknamed Nine, she is the ninth child of her family and she was born on the ninth day of the ninth month, who was given to a leper named Big Head Li who traded a mule for her. On her trip to Big Head Li's home, while being jostled about in the sedan chair as custom would have it, Nine peeks from behind the curtains and spots one of the well-muscled sedan carriers and falls in love with him at first site. Later, After killing a would be thief and being able to see Nine for the first time, the sedan carrier, who is only referred to as "my grandfather" by the narrator, falls instantly in love also. On a trip back to her father's home, as custom would hold on the third day of marriage, Nine is accosted by a masked man who turns out to be the sedan carrier. There under the shadows of the sorghum they make love. While a her father's home Big Head Li is killed although no one knows who did it, so upon her return to the winery Nine inherits the place and asks the workers to stay and work for her. Included amongst these workers is an older man named Luohan whom Nine takes to immediately. However, the Sedan carrier also returns drunk and says some quite rude things about Nine, however, the two eventually come to peace with each other and for a while things seem to be going well…until the Japanese army invades.Red Sorghum is at times hilarious such as when The sedan carrier, Jiang Wen, sings and cries to himself when he is in a wine pot for three days, sad, and absolutely brutal. There are some scenes after the Japanese army has invaded that will truly make one cringe. While some of his later films are better known and show the evidence of skilled craftsmanship from years of experience, Red Sorghum should not be missed for its significance in the history of recent Chinese cinema as the first pairing of Zhang Yimou and Gong Li.