Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Lee Eisenberg Zhang Yimou's Academy Award-nominated "Da hong deng long gao gao gua" ("Raise the Red Lantern" in English) is one of the many movies that sets up why China is like it is today. In this case, the focus is the plight of a woman in the Warlord Era. Songlian (Gong Li) is forced to become a concubine for a wealthy man. She is his fourth mistress. Each mistress lives in her own compound, and the lantern of his chosen mistress for the night gets lit. Tension is bound to arise, especially since not every mistress gets equal treatment.The movie is a look at the master's superficial world, and the pseudo-luxury that the mistresses enjoy. The rooms themselves may be colorful, but the compound itself is just as dismal as the mistresses' lives. The unusual blend of colors and music creates a movie like few others. You don't have to know all about China's history to understand what a fine piece of work this is. I recommend it.

Prismark10 Raise The Red Lantern demonstrated the importance of Chinese cinema. Luscious use of colour, photography and setting it in the past meant you could use symbolism to make coded criticisms of China today without or hopefully not raising the eyebrow of the censor.Our protagonist Songlian is a 19 year old woman in 1920s China, beautiful and educated. When her father dies her step mother sells her as a concubine to her wealthy master. She is the fourth mistress and when the red lantern is lit outside her house, it signifies that the master will spend the night with her and she will be treated royally.The master has four wives, the first is older, maybe around his age and she has bore him a child but is largely forgotten. At her age she knows she cannot arouse the interest of the master.The film is almost soap opera like as the other wives compete for the interest of the master and this means conspiring, being petty and mean. It leads to tragic results and Songlian distils that this is a game where the women cannot win. As the wives get older the master will find a younger model with something different that interests him. She retreats into solitude.Director Zhang highlights the lack of power women had in the past in this Confucian orientated society but also shows what could happen to you if you did not play by the rules in an archaic system.

bigverybadtom Zonglian is a woman forced to drop out of college and marry a wealthy older lord when her father dies. But she is merely a fourth wife who must live in a house, as does her three "sisters". The man chooses one of four wives each night, and red lanterns are lit above the respective wife's house. This causes the wives to resent each other and compete for his attentions, and even Zonglian's maidservant plots against her.After Zonglian gets herself disgraced by making the false claim that she had been impregnated by the lord, she forms a sort of friendship with the formerly jealous third wife, who admits having an affair with the family doctor. But things get even worse when Zonglian is tricked into admitting the secret.China was never a happy place under Communism, but it certainly wasn't much better before it either.

will-cawkwell Raise the Red Lantern is directed by the well known Chinese director Zhang Yimou. Zhang has created a piece of work that is rich with symbolism. His use of colour and differing camera angles capture the unspoken emotions and atmosphere constantly surrounding the narrative. Raise the Red Lantern reflects on Confucian attitudes and the welfare of women under this regime. Zhang uses cultural tradition to critique the past. While this tradition serves its purpose in the film it must be recognised as a conscious attempt by Zhang to self-orientalise. His use of hyper-real traditions further demonstrates his need to emphasise the exotic and make the film appealing to an international audience. Colour is used throughout the film to create atmosphere, depict emotions and symbolise power. Zhang has a history of using the colour red in his films. In Raise the Red Lantern I believe the colour red is used to symbolise power and also the lack of power. Each evening all the mistresses must line up outside their houses to await the master's choice of who he will spend the night with. The mistress who is chosen is presented with a glowing red lantern at her doorway and the approach to her house is lit by red lanterns. This display of red gives power to one over the many. With the honour associated with being chosen to lie with the master comes power of choice over the other mistresses and servants. The chosen mistress may choose what food is prepared for all, where she will eat it and can demand usually unobtainable services from servants and mistresses alike. In this instance the colour red is a symbol of power for the mistress. In the same instance this colour red can be interpreted as a lack of power for the mistress. The red lantern being presented to the mistress could also represent her powerlessness over choice. She has been chosen by the master to sleep with him; she has no say in this decision and must subject to his will. Yet another reading of this symbol is that of the western notion of a red light representing prostitution. A common symbol of prostitution in the west is having a red light over the doorway and lends to the name "red light district". This western understanding of the colour red may have been adopted by Zhang in this film to further its understanding and appeal to western audiences. For when you review the way in which the mistress is chosen, is used as a tool to gratify the man and then left at his discretion, it has many similarities to prostitution. Contrasting the bright colour red is the muted backdrop of subdued hues of Grey. This backdrop creates a sense of melancholy and impending despair. It also highlights the bright red of the lanterns, furthermore emphasising whoever has the lanterns importance and power over the rest. I believe that the lanterns themselves are also very symbolic in the film. The lanterns are the lifeblood of the female characters in the film. When the lanterns are lit the characters have hope and life, when they are out they live in despair. When Songlian is found to have tricked the master about being pregnant her lanterns are not only put out but also covered. This symbolises her hope being quashed, she is from then on ignored by the master, left to live in the muted background and fated to turn mad. Another example of the lantern symbolising hope and life is with Ya'ner . Ya'ner steals lanterns to try and emulate the hope and life that the mistresses enjoy. When Ya'ner is found out she is forced to kneel in the snow while her lanterns are burnt in front of her. This symbolises her hopes, dreams and life being destroyed. She dies after this episode. Raise the Red Lantern is also a critique of the not so distant Confucian society that dominated China for over a thousand years. Zhang focuses his portrayal of Confucian values on the power relationship between genders. Such examples are evident throughout the film. The husband in the film, only ever referred to in the film as "the master", is the patriarch and untouchable. The master has four wives/mistresses and has the power to call on any one of them to fulfil his needs. His mistresses have no choice in when or how they are chosen, they are treated as objects not as people. The fact that he is married to all four women and yet they are never referred to as his wives is an example of their lack of power and status. Zhang uses two characteristics common to Fifth generation film makers in his telling of Raise the Red Lantern. Both self-orientalising and hyper-real situations are evident throughout the film. Zhang purposely over exaggerates many of the cultural practices and the extent of their influence. He does this to draw attention and make the film more exotic and enthralling to an international audience. He focuses on the negative and brutal aspects of Confucian society to perpetuate the western belief that Chinese society is brutal and archaic. In his attempt to make the film more exotic he also creates hyper-real customs that he sells as authentic. Key depictions such as the use of the red lanterns, the use of the voodoo doll by the servant and the 'traditional' foot massage are examples of an imagined culture created for the benefit of the viewer. Raise the Red Lantern is a gripping, emotional and vivid critique of Confucian society. It makes use of extensive symbolism to enhance the narrative and further the viewers understanding of key themes. Zhang has focused on gender power relations, in particular the lack of power women were afforded in Confucian society. He has used traditional as well as hyper-real cultural practices to emphasise and highlight the moral miss-comings of Chinese culture and in effect has reinforced western views of cultural supremacy.