Raise the Red Lantern

Rating:
Summary: Raise Your Hands In Applause
Review: Someone said it was a mystery why Chinese actress Gong Li hasn't been brought to Hollywood to make films. I don't know either. She's a brilliant actress. "Raise The Red Lantern" was the second film I saw with her (the first had been the delectible "Farewell My Concubine"; that film got me hooked on Chinese cinema). " ... Lantern" places it's female characters in a world long gone, in a safety net that gave poor beautiful young girls few options. For in the courtyard of doors leading to the quarters of 3 various concubines, all 3 including the mandarin await the arrival of a 4rth--Gong Li, young, beautiful and vibrant. All the women are prisoners of their culture where the value of a female is low. They will get what they need to survive and more in a country where survival for the poor is an every day struggle. Seasons change, but circumstances don't--until the new concubine arrives.
Whenever the mandarin of the house wants to sleep with any one of these women, a red lantern is placed like a large spot of blood at the door of one of the women. None can refuse. However with the new arrival, small rebellions grow, jealousies come to the fore and even violence and murder occur. Trapped in a world where everyone thinks she has no alternative but to submit to her master's calling, Gong-Li's character figures out a scheme that will allow her a sort of freedom yet ironically at the expense of her sanity. Just brilliant.

Rating:
Summary: Brutal politics in a marriage of concubines
Review: Raise the Red Lantern is one of the most extraordinarily beautiful movies I have ever seen. The sets are exquisite tableaux carefully arranged, decorated and framed, and then shot from attractive angles. The scene as they drag the third mistress, kicking and screaming to the tower of death, with the snow falling so peacefully onto the rooftops was chilling in its effect. The startling blaze of color, light and detail within the houses set against the drab simplicity of the courtyards, continually provided a contrast between life within the protection and at the favor of the master, and life without. This dichotomy is symbolized in the vibrant red lamps and the somber blue hue of the lamps when they are covered. In this manner, the mistresses are controlled. I was also struck by the sonorous beauty of the accompanying Chinese music.

But more compelling than the beauty of the film is the story Director Zhang Yimou tells, a tale of paternity and imperious privilege set in early twentieth century China. He begins with the newly arrived fourth mistress, 19-year-old Songlian, a university student who, because of the death of her father, is forced to quit school. She chooses to marry a man of wealth. She is warned by her stepmother that she will be a concubine. She replies, isn't that our fate? Her cynicism and then her robust energy in seeking her ascendancy over the other sisters engages us and we identify with her struggle.

What is extraordinary about Zhang's direction is how easily and naturally the personalities of the characters are revealed. The first mistress ("big sister") is too old to be of any sexual interest to the master, yet she is the mother of the eldest son. The second mistress, who has given the master only a daughter, still dreams of having a son. Her devious schemes and plots are hidden by smiles and fake good will toward her sisters. The third mistress, an opera singer still vibrant and beautiful (in a fascinating performance by the intriguing Caifei He), uses her allure in vying for the master's attention. Songlian, in spite of herself, finds herself caught up in the competition with the others.

Gong Li, who plays Songlian, is very beautiful with a strength of character that one quite naturally admires. She has the gift, as does, for example, Julia Roberts, of being able to express a wide range of emotion with just a glance of her very expressive face.

Serving as a foil to the mistresses, and perhaps as the most poignant victim of the concubine system, is the servant girl Yan'er, played with a compelling veracity by Kong Lin. She is occasionally (how shall I say this for Amazon?) "touched," to use Songlian's term, by the master, and so she dreamed of being the fourth mistress. But when the fourth mistress arrives, her dreams are shattered, and in her jealousy she hates Songlian and plots against her. One of the most memorable scenes in the movie is when Songlian, thinking Yan'er has stolen her flute, forces open the servant girl's room and finds it flooded with.... Well, you should see.

Note well that the master is only hazily observed. He is a personage, a man of wealth. That is enough to know about him. He is as interchangeable as the harem masters on a beach of elephant seals. But because he has wealth, he can engage concubines who must compete with one another through him to find their station in life. One gets a sense of what it might be like in the harem system practiced by gorillas or the sheiks and warlords of old. One pleases the master not because one loves the master (although one does of course because humans tend to love their masters) but because in pleasing the master one rises above the others. Thus the triumphant call, "Light the lanterns in the third house!"

Most people no doubt lament the life of the mistresses. Yet women in poor places may wish such a life upon themselves. But concubines are just prostitutes, really, one might say, trapped by a system of male privilege. But I would remind those who see only that, that for every wife the "master" has, that is one wife another man will not have. The system does NOT favor males. It favors wealth and privilege. In such a system there are many men without wives, fomenting unrest, which is one reason modern states forbid polygamy. What does a man do with the capital he accumulates or inherits? If the system allows, he spends it on women and the assurance of his paternity. And why is that possible? Because many women--Songlian is our example--would rather be the fourth wife of a rich man than the first and only wife of a poor man. Many women would rather be used by a man of wealth than rule the household of a nerd. This is the way humans are, and any sexist interpretation of this movie misses this truth.

The real horror depicted here, though, is in the brutality used to maintain the system, not in the polygamy itself. The women who follow the rules and beget the master's children, especially if they are sons, enjoy a pampered and secure existence Those who do not are dealt with severely, branded as mad, or even murdered. Note the similar experience of the wives of Henry VIII, for example, within the English system of serial monogamy.

This is a great movie, like a timeless novel fully realized, directed by a visual genius, from a script of great psychological power. Don't miss this one. It's one of the best ever made.

Rating:
Summary: Looking for a DVD version?
Review: This review refers specifically to the ERA Taiwanese DVD release.

I wish I could give this "no rating". The film itself is masterful and in my opionion five stars worthy. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bought it! However, I would give it less stars for the media it came on (hence the 3 stars average).

There seem to be three official U.S. releases, but on VHS only. Bummer. Well, there's is a legal DVD version available released in Taiwan from the ERA studio (check http://www.dvdbeaver.com/ for info). You can get it from the Amazon Marketplace sellers.

However, be forewarned, it is NOT your typical U.S. DVD quality. It is SUBPAR with a fuzzy, shaking picture that honestly gave me a headache. The subtitles are shown simultaneous in English and Chinese and cannot be removed from the screen. The subtitles are also difficult to read. The sound clarity is passable but the stereo balance comes mostly out of the left speaker. There are no special features, and all the menu selections are in Chinese (but you can figure that out by trial and error anyway).

As a note the seller, [e-mail], was prompt and honest in addresing my concerns with the legality and quality. I first thought it was a bootleg. But he verified, as did I, that it is a legitmate release. He was willing to refund me, but I decided to keep the DVD becuase it was not his fault.

It seems there is some confusion about what formats this film is available on. If you do a DVD search on Amazon, you find nothing. If you do a VHS search you will find three versions. 1. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer release 2. Mgm/Ua Studios 3. Orion Home Video. If you look at the details, it says that these are in Region 1 encoding (typically DVD terminology), but I haven't been able to find DVD versions of these elsewhere on the internet. Bottom line, the Taiwanese version may be the only DVD release. If you can find it elsewhere, it will be a rare fortunate find indeed or it could be a bootleg!

Be assured that the ERA Taiwanese version is a LEGAL release, just not the quality you might expect out of a legal DVD release. I've a hunch that the U.S. VHS release is much cleaner, but haven't experienced it myself. If I were to buy again knowing the DVD quality, I would go for one of the VHS versions.