Red Sorghum

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Scott R @ScottR 11/03/2021 1001 movies to see before you die. A somewhat communist tribute to old China and a sorghum wine community that was thriving, then disrupted by the Japanese occupation. It told the love story that was ruined by the Japanese. It was on Youtube. See more Taylor L 08/07/2021 Wine as drink, wine as explosive. Zhang Yimou's cinematic debut is a testament to transformation, spontaneity, and the insecure nature of life, beginning as a simplistic and traditional small-scale (but long-duration) social drama where characters contend mostly with the trappings of society, where the world itself seems to end at the boundaries of a sorghum field; like the production of wine, the story progression is sluggish and incremental. Until, with no warning, the world rushes in at the arrival of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the carefully cultivated personalities that we have been introduced to through subtle character interactions and that have aged with time are suddenly thrust into a radical upheaval. The majority of the film is preoccupied with its folk tale origin (recounted by a subsequent generation), and its languid nature clashes with the grim and scarcely foreshadowed conclusion. As the directorial debut of well-recognized filmmaker Zhang Yimou and the acting debut of film star Gong Li, Red Sorghum heralded a shift in the international perception of Chinese cinema; even though the Chinese film did not remotely approach the international force that Hollywood still lays claim to, there was now the potential for individual projects to reach the same level of recognition as those of longstanding international titans of dramatic film, such as France and Italy. (3.5/5) See more acsdoug D @acsdoug 06/24/2021 I found the story to be a bit disjointed, as if the film makers couldn't figure out how to end a gentle tale of peasants working and surviving in the countryside, so they decided to have the Japanese show up and destroy everything. However, it was nice to see that Gong Li had developed her considerable acting chops (as well as her stunning beauty} by the time of her very first movie. See more 06/23/2018 Visually this was often stunning, but after a fine start the plot drifts into a series of barely connected episodes and the emotional attachment to the characters drains away. The final half hour felt as if they'd switched reels with "Come and See". See more 03/15/2017 Beautiful's and lush piece of film-making, the scenery and its colours are pure magic. A very strange but simple storytelling of unusual balance of bizarre musical opening, hopeful light-heartedness middle with a sudden Violence and tragic ending See more 09/19/2015 Has a couple of major themes, which confuses a little as there doesn't seem to be one dominant storyline. What does exist though is a very deep, and meaningful period drama with some heavy scenes based on history. See more Read all reviews

Red Sorghum

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