Film: Raise The Red Lantern
Running time: 125 mins
Director: Yimou Zhang
Starring: Li Gong, Jingwu Ma, Saifei He, Cuifen Cao, Qi Zhao
Genre: Drama
Country: China/Hong Kong/Taiwan
Region 1 release.
Raise The Red Lantern, Zhang Yimou’s powerful and evocative depiction of life in 1920s feudal China, was nominated for several awards and won a BAFTA for best foreign film of 1993.
The storyline, adapted from the 1990 novel Wives And Concubines by Su Tong, follows the fortunes of a young student who is forced to marry a wealthy overlord.
At the age of 19, Songlian (played by Gong Li) is uprooted from her family home to become a bird in a gilded cage, at the mercy of her powerful husband Chen (Ma Jingwu).
As his fourth wife (effectively one of his concubines), Songlian has to contend with the jealousy of other three and vie for his attention, as she struggles to find her place in the oppressive confines of the palace which has become her prison.
The red lantern which is raised outside the home of the woman chosen to share her husband’s bed each night is a sought-after status symbol among the wives...
This Chinese-Taiwanese co-production, sumptuously shot and rich in period detail, with the ancient city of Pingyao in Shanxi Province providing an authentic backdrop, paints a compelling portrait of four wives locked in a cold war with each other, gradually stripping away the stately facade to reveal the savage instinct for survival which drives them.
Wife number one, Yuru (Jin Shuyuan), is the matriarch, whose position is assured since she has produced a son and heir. Chen’s son Feipu (Xiao Chu) is a student of a similar age to Songlian, and the brief, understated exchanges between the young pair hint at what might have been, in different circumstances.
Zhuoyun, wife number two, (Cao Cuifen) takes the newcomer under her wing and warns that she will have to contend with the jealousy of the third wife, Meishan (played with panache by He Cafei) who is an opera singer and something of a diva.
Adding further complications to the multi-layered plot is Songlian’s maidservant Yaner (Gong Lin), who turns out to be another of Chen’s lovers, and secretly conspires against her own mistress. Chen himself is a shadowy figure whose face is not shown until the denouement of the film, but his threatening presence is felt throughout.
When he finds Songlian’s most treasured possession – a flute belonging to her late father, whose death left the family bankrupt and lead to the arranged marriage – he destroys it, believing it had been given to her by an admirer. This is one in a series of small but significant incidents which conspire to crush Songlian’s spirit - until she begins to fight back.
Within the confines of the wives’ quarters, the camera focuses closely on the elaborate rules and rituals of their daily lives. When Meishan is temporarily in favour with Chen, she revels in her position by ordering only meat dishes for the communal meal, a deliberate snub to Songlian, a vegetarian.
The rivalry between the women intensifies when Meishan invites the local medic, Dr Gao, to one of her soirees. Songlian notices Meishan playing footsie with the doctor under the table and, drunk after the party, tells the other women what she has seen, not anticipating the terrible consequences of her actions. These fierce lionesses, closely guarding their pride of place in the palace, lie in wait to unleash their claws on each other, and Songlian eventually learns that she can trust no-one.
Gong Li gives a subtle and sensitive portrayal of a young girl caught up in a world of intrigue, who is forced to become cunning and ruthless to survive, taking revenge on her rivals, but losing her sense of self in the process.
With each new twist and turn, this tale of Chinese whispers raises the stakes until it becomes clear that the ensuing power struggle can only end in tragedy.
While the film was initially censured in communist China for its supposed anti-authoritarian message, this polished piece of cinematography nevertheless became a classic which firmly established the international reputation of Zhang Yimou, who later went on to direct the critically-acclaimed House Of The Flying Daggers.
The attention to detail, colourful camera work and well-observed characterisation combine to make this a masterful and memorable piece of storytelling. AL
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