Raise the Red Lantern (1991)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Raise the Red Lantern (1991) – Y. Zhang

I saw this on the big screen in the early Nineties but it still looks ravishing on my TV, with those amazing red lanterns, standing out dramatically from the blue, grey or brown monochrome background of the family compound.  Gong Li plays a headstrong young woman in 1920’s China who is seemingly sent back in time as the fourth wife to a domineering (by tradition) Master who wields power over his household by selecting which wife he will favour each night by sleeping in their bed. If a wife is chosen, then the red lanterns are hung and lit at her residence (and she also gets a foot massage and can choose the menu of the day).  Needless to say, this creates competition among the wives and although Gong Li’s Songlian easily wins the Master’s attention at first, being the youngest and most attractive of the four, she is soon undermined by the other wives (as well as her assigned maid who also seeks the Master’s fancy).  Although the focus is on the interpersonal machinations of the women, director Zhang Yimou does not hesitate to lay blame on “the system” that the Master and his ancestors have created (an extreme patriarchy and feudal to boot).  No doubt gender inequality (and its psychological effects) is critiqued here, but Songlian may also be likened to the modern Chinese people shackled to the archaic rules of the past and frustrated as a result (the film was initially banned although Zhang soon regained favour).  The tragedy progresses slowly and in a stately way, aided by static long shots, often from above showing the women relegated/locked in their respective areas of the compound/prison, with the loud and impressive soundtrack (bells, the hammers of the foot massage, a startling choir, etc). punctuating each scene.  We progress through the seasons until we end, aptly in winter, with the cold air synonymous with the chilly emotional tenor of the film.