Red Sorghum (1987)

When a leprous winery owner in 1930s China dies a few days after his arranged marriage, his young widow is forced to run the winery to make a living while contending with bandits, her drunkard lover, and the invading Japanese army.

Director:

Yimou Zhang

Writers:

Jianyu Chen, Yan Mo (books)

Stars:

Li Gong, Wen Jiang, Rujun Teng

10 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Li Gong	...	Wo Nainai (My Grandma)
Wen Jiang	...	Wo Yeye (My Grandpa)
Rujun Teng	...	Wo Luohan Yeye (Uncle Luohan) (as Rujun Ten)
Ji Liu	...	Wo Die (My Dad)
Ming Qian	...	Wo Nainai ta Die (My Grandma's Dad)
Chunhua Ji	...	Sanpao
Chunhua Zhai
Zhaoji Jia
Yuxiang Zhang
Guiyun Zhou
Qianbin Yang	...	(as Yang Qianbin)
Guoqing Xu
Erga Yao
Yusheng Li
Kun Dong

Storyline

In 1930s China a young woman is sent by her father to marry the leprous owner of a winery. In the nearby red sorghum fields she falls for one of his servants. When the master dies she finds herself inheriting the isolated business.

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Plot Keywords:

1930s | wine | arranged marriage | sino japanese war | sorghum | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

China

Language:

Mandarin Japanese

Release Date:

February 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Red Sorghum

Filming Locations:

China

Company Credits

Production Co:

Xi'an Film Studio

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The films screenplay was based on the novel of the same name by Chinese author Mo Yan. In 2012, Mo Yan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy awarded him the prize as an author "who with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary".

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Connections

Featured in The Turandot Project (2000)

User Reviews

Red Sky, Red Wine, Red Blood, Red Dust of the Earth

Red Sorghum. Red is for blood. Blood/Wine coursing through your veins. Blood Pumping Love in your heart and Courage as well. Blood of your loved ones killed in war. Blood of your enemies. Blood of your Brothers. I get it now. I remember his masterful use of color. Just like how he retells the stories in different colors for "Hero". This is how I felt after watching "Red Sorghum."

Gong Li is stunning as usual. Check out Zhang Yimou as Brother Lohan. He displays such dignity. Muscle Man quite often steals the show with his bravado. The songs are uplifting and beautiful to hear. The scenery takes you away and the fields of sorghum are alive and pulling you in like Nature Herself.

While gutwrenching like his other movies, the characters in this one are especially endearing in their loyalty to each other. What more can I say. Poetry brought to life.