 Ju
Dou: In this dark, sensual and visually sumptuous drama set in in 1920's
China, Ju Dou (Gong Li), is forced into marriage to Yang Jin-Shan (Li Wei),
the wealthy owner of a silk dying mill. She is repeatedly mistreated and tortured
by her elderly husband for failing to bear him an heir, even though he is infertile.
Her suffering attracts the sympathy of her husband's young nephew, the gentle
Yang Tian-Qing (Li Bao-Tian), who is the sole employee in the lonely factory.
Their tender friendship blossoms into love and the two begin a secret affair.
When Ju Dou's elderly husband becomes wheelchair-bound, the young lovers take
their affair out into the open, producing a child that he must claim as his
own to save face.
An Erotic Tale of Forbidden Passion
Ju Dou was banned in China, where party leaders saw it as an
unflattering metaphor for modern Chinese life, a society ruled by a coterie
of aging, controlling men. Acclaimed throughout the world, this film almost
didn't come to the screen at all. Chinese officials tried to hide Ju-Dou behind
a wall of censorship - an act that prompted Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen and
other major filmmakers to speak out in support of this remarkable work.
Directed by Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers), the celebrated "fifth generation"
filmmaker from China. Zhang trained as a cinematographer before he turned to
directing, and it shows in every color-drenched, exquisitely composed frame
of this romantic tragedy.
Starring Gong Li. Directed by Zhang Yimou
- "Zhang's
film has a blazing ferocity; it's a prodigious achievement..." - Rolling
Stone
- "Memorably
lurid...[Gong Li] shines..." - New York Times
- "Visually
ravishing...This essay in color composition throws into contrast the sumptuous
cloths of the dye factory and the drab lives of the lovers..." - Film Comment
- "Ju Dou
has a vibrant look...The reds and yellow in this film have a fairy-tale aliveness..."
- Los Angeles Times
- Winner:
Amanda Award for Best Foreign Feature Film
- Winner:
Golden Spike Award, Valladolid International Film Festival
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