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Review: Raise the Red Lantern (SCHOOL)

Leon Tai Cheng Hao U1530869B

The film I have chosen to review is “Raise the Red Lantern”, released in 2001 and directed by Chinese film director Zhang Yimou. The film stars Chinese actress Gong Li, who plays the character Songlian, daughter of a deceased man, who marries into a rich family as a concubine.

Plot

The film is set in 1920s China during the warlord era, years before the Chinese Civil War. Songlian, who marries in to the wealthy Chen family as the third concubine, is initially treated like royalty, but she soon discovers that only the concubine that is chosen by the master gets the royal treatment. Each night, the master chooses which concubine he will spend the night with, visually represented by having a red lantern raised outside of the concubine’s quarters. This life of royalty soon degrades into a constant competition between the concubines, all of them fighting against each other to gain the affections of the master.

Through a series of events filled with affairs and deceit, Songlian soon comes to the conclusion that she would be better off dying than to be trapped in the household as a concubine and she eventually goes insane.

Controversy

Zhang Yimou, born in 1951, can be considered part of the ‘Fifth Generation’ of Chinese filmmakers, who were the first group of filmmakers to graduate from the Beijing Film Academy since the Cultural Revolution. Films made by this generation of filmmakers portrayed the Chinese society with more artistic license than before. While the final screenplay was approved by Chinese censors, the actual film was originally banned from screening in China, as Chinese officials viewed the film as a concealed criticism and protest against the Communist Chinese government.

The master-servant relationships portrayed in the film (the master and his concubines) could be likened to the relationship between the Chinese government and its people; either follow the rules or be punished for defying them. The master represents the government, the act of raising the red lanterns represents the customs in China, and the main character, Songlian, represents the everyday person.

Secondly, the competition between the concubines of the Chen household to get the affections of the master could be a representation of people in China fighting amongst themselves to get the rewards for being faithful to the master/government.

Lastly, in the film, a concubine is hanged due to her adultery, which can be likened to how the Chinese government runs China; any disobedience towards the master will be dealt with extreme measures, thus manipulating the concubines/people to be loyal towards the master. It is due to these comparisons and connections that Zhang Yimou makes that caused the film to be banned in China.

Chinese or Western Film?

With its Chinese setting, dialogue, aesthetic and themes, it is not surprising that an individual might come to the conclusion that ‘Raise the Red Lantern’ is undoubtedly a Chinese film. While the film might appear Chinese to a foreign audience (the film did win many awards for ‘Best Foreign Film’ in various film festivals), people from within China have expressed different views. One person in particular is the journalist Dai Qing.

Dai Qing, one of China’s best known investigative journalists, has written an article discussing the flaws he has found in Raise the Red Lantern. Titled “Raied Eyebrows for Raise the Red Lantern”, he expresses that due to the inaccuracy of the film, it is really shot “for the casual pleasures of foreigners”; and describes the film as a case of ‘oriental fetishism.’

He notes that the ritual of raising the red lanterns, while providing a visually appealing motif, has not been recorded in history, implying that this ritual was made solely for the film. He notes that the wealthy people in traditional China would demand to cultivate an air of civility, and that the ritual of raising the red lanterns would be uncharacteristic of someone of status and wealth.

Conclusion

While people might argue that the film is not a Chinese film due to its historical inaccuracies, I feel that because of the Zhang Yimou’s intention to use the film as a criticism of the Chinese government, ‘Raise the Red Lantern’ is a Chinese film due to the political themes in the movie.

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