Movie Review - Ju Dou (1990)

My parents had cable off-and-on in my household.  At one point, the cable became too expensive, and we stopped.  We picked it up again after a while, and stopped again when the cable became too much. Now, with digital cable forcing everyone to pay for stuff they used to get for free, we have cable again.  With the glut of crap on specially generalized cable television (Toddlers & Tiaras, Crocosaurus, all the no-talent shows, occult-themed shows, police procedural shows, etc.), it will never be like it was.  

Back then, we didn't have to worry about having to subscribe to a specific channel to get out foreign movies: we simply were surprised.  It was like this in my high school years when I watched the movie that started my love for Asian cinema: Ju Dou.

Ju Dou was like nothing I had seen before in American film: the new land, the strange people and culture (granted, the only time I had dealt with Asian people and culture was either at a restaurant or a kung-fu movie), the language, and the colors. OH GOD THE COLORS.  The colors weren't part of some forced hallucination or a drug-related trip on my part.  It was simply the way that director Yimou Zhang was able to not only give the set designer and cinematographer the instructions to make the movie visually appealing, but the tension between the characters was believable and tangible.  It would set the rule for me in the future that whenever I watch an Asian film, check if Li Gong is in it first.

"Dear Penthouse Forum..."

The movie is set in early 20th Century China, when the life of Ju Dou (played by Li Gong) is disrupted by her marriage to Old Yang (actor Wei Li) who runs a dye mill.  He paid a handsome sum for such a beautiful bride, so she had better produce him an heir--which she cannot because the old man is sterile.  He treats her horribly in response (an understatement, to say the least) and has no idea that someone has else has had their eye on her, but can't act on it.

Tianqing (Baotian Li) is Old Yang's younger relative, who lives and works at the mill as Yang's ward.  He is also mistreated to a degree.  He takes pity on the woman who is now legally his aunt.  At first, their relationship is deeply appalling... but you come to understand that their common ground is their hatred of Old Yang.  He is wholly deserving of this hatred, which Ju Dou and Tianqing transform into lust and love.  Nature takes its course under the influence of human intervention, and the story seems as if it will develop into an ending scenario that will be considered acceptable.  That's when the film becomes an experience in truly deep heartbreak.  The dynamic changes so hard and fast, you can only stay riveted to your seat to see how it all turns out.

OH GOD THE COLORS, MAN

And so it went, my first foreign film viewing.  

This led to me watching not only foreign films with Li Gong in it (Curse of the Golden Flower, Raise the Red Lantern), but also other foreign fare (Luc Besson's ANGEL-A, Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor [yes, it counts], Karan Johar's Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Juzo Itami's Tampopo), not to mention domestic productions with Asian themes (Memoirs of a Geisha, Snow Falling on Cedars).  I can say without any confusion that this is one of the best movies I have ever seen.  This is mostly due to my eyes being opened--not to the flare of an action movie's explosion, the shine of a silver sci-fi rocket or to the horrors of a slasher film--but to the greater expanse of world film and filmmakers outside of America and kung-fu movies.  To you and all those like you, director Zhang, I thank you.

Movie Review - Shuang-Qi-Zhen daoke (1992)

I picked this up at Blockbuster in the Martial Arts section, even though it would fit much better in the Foreign section. I say that because Swordsmen in Double Flag Town doesn't have the copious amount of swordplay that most martial arts movies have and that doing so would be giving Blockbuster too much credit. Enough about the rental company, here's a movie about the Chinese West that took place around 71, no 81 years ago...
Upon his deathbed, old man Hai told his young son Hai Ge (Gao Wei) that he was betrothed as a baby to a girl in Double Flag Town. She's got a mole on her butt and her father is a lame man. Armed with the information and a trusty pair of daggers, Hai Ge sets out across the Gobi Desert to find the town. Along the way he crosses the path of Desert Eagle (Wang Gang), a self-proclaimed champion of the people. They part ways as Hai Ge approaches  Double Flag. He meets his father-in-law Lame Man (Chiang Jiang) under the worst circumstances and makes a fool of himself in front of his bride, Hao Mei (Zhao Mana). Once everything is straightened out, Hai Ge starts to work at Mr. Hao's restaurant. Even if Hai Ge gets no respect, it's a living, until bandits come to town.
These bandits are under the command of the Lethal Swordsman (Sun Haiying), and they want a little fun. That fun comes in the shape of trying to rape Hao Mei. Quick with the daggers, Hai Ge makes short work of the offender. Sadly, the offender is not just any bandit--he's the Lethal Swordsman's brother. This is sure to bring the wrath of the Lethal Swordsman down on Double Flag Town, so the townies ask for Hai Ge's help, but expect to be wiped out in a bloodbath. Their fear is justified; Hai Ge is barely 15 years old.

This movie is an award-winning film in its native China and across the globe, winning six awards over three years from different countries. To quote the back of the DVD case, it's a style that can be describes as "Sergio Leone meets Hiroshi Teshigahara". I can understand the Sergio Leone reference, but I'll have to take the time to watch a Teshigahara film to truly appreciate the sentiment. Nonetheless, it can get bloody, but not so crazy that the fighting overshadows the story. It probably won't grab the imagination of most martial arts fans because of the lack of fighting, so I should recommend this film migrate to the foreign film section, where its merits would be appreciated.