Ju Dou by Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang (1991)
18 December 2007The first Chinese language film to be nominated for an academy award, and is of course a partnership with Gong Li, who really makes the film with her amazing performance. This is a horrible tragedy, but an an amazing film about that time in Chinese history and what it could be like for women.
Ju Dou takes place in early 20th century China. Yang Tianqing (Li Baotian) returns from a trip selling silk to his adoptive uncle Yang Jinshan (Li Wei). Jinshan has just purchased his third wife, after beating the last 2 to death. THis is Ju Dou (Gong Li) and since she hasn’t gotten pregnant he beats the hell out of her, but in fact he is impotent. Tianqing instantly likes Ju Dou and carves a whole in teh wall so he can watch her bather. She discovers the whole, and at first is worried, but then realizes maybe it will be a way out. She and Tianqing make love and a child Tianbai is born, though Jinshan thinks it is his own.
REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…
Jinshan has a stroke and is paralyzed from the waste down, so they put in him a barrel to move around. When he sees his wife with Tianqing he is going to push the child into the die vat, but when the child calls him father and he stops, and they hang him in his barrel, but then Ju Dou becomes pregnant again, and they know that will ruin them, so she must take poison and becomes barren.
Tianbai has grown up (YI Zhang) and doesn’t speak to his parents, and Tianbai pushes his father into a die vat and he dies. After the funeral Ju Duo is never allowed to be with another man, and Tianqing must move out of the house, and come only to work in the day.
10 years later Tianbai is even older (Zheng Ji’an) and hates his parents and he has almost killed someone because of rumors about his parents infidelities. Tianbai catches his parents having sex, and flips out and throws his father into a die vat, where he dies. ANd Ju Dou burns the mill down watching as the flames rage around her.
•••
A terrible tragedy that points out what can happen when women are so badly mistreated and not having rights of their own. And of course Gong Li is as good as she always is here. Just a fantastic performance.