Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

p-seed-889-188469 According to other reviewers "Red Sorghum" is a cinematic wonder, a masterpiece, exquisite and many similar gushing adjectives. I wish I could agree but I cannot. Apparently this movie was based on a famous, prize winning novel. I have no idea if that novel has a point but this movie does not. The movie opens to a bride being carried in a sedan chair to the site of her arranged marriage. The groom must have been born under a bad sign, for apparently not only has he a big head but also leprosy. To cap it off he is murdered before we even get to see him, so that at least was a saving on casting. For reasons that are not clear the girl has with her a pair of scissors. Maybe she was going to adjust her hem on the way but who knows. The sedan chair carriers burst lustily into voice with a song reminiscent of "Bold Sir Robin" in Monty Python and the Holy Grail". It was actually pretty funny and I thought maybe the movie would reveal itself to be a laugh out loud comedy. But regrettably not, any humour is simply because each scene is more ridiculous and illogical than the last. This movie could have been a love story. But it wasn't. It could have been a character story. But it wasn't - the characters are all cartoons of people I could not care less about. It could have been a drama. But it wasn't, the only "drama" is contrived. It could have been a history lesson. But it wasn't, we get a one line reference to communism and a random and out of context cameo appearance by the Japanese Imperial Army. 1940's China is one of the richest, most complex, heart breaking stories in the History of the World, but do we see any of it? No dice. I could go on and dissect every scene for its stupidity and irrelevance, but I would exceed the 1000 word limit and test the reader's patience. According to other viewers Gong Li is the next best thing to Venus on Earth. Perhaps she is in other movies, but not in this one. She is portrayed as one of 500 million dirt poor peasants eking out a subsistence living out in the backblocks of China. To the credit of the film makers she is portrayed this way, not unattractive but certainly not attractive, either physically or as a person. Other reviewers praise the cinematography, possibly because it is the only redeeming feature of this movie. Sure, it has lots of sorghum leaves blowing in the wind, silhouettes of a totally out of place arch against the moon in all its phases, and lots of red tinting. But I'm sorry, pretty as it is, attempting to make a film "arty" by using all the usual suspects of "Arthouse Film 101" is a poor substitute for a real movie. If I can compare this movie to a meal it is heavy on garnish but has no meat and potatoes. It leaves you unsatisfied.

Champcai This is the first film of Zhang Yimou as a director and it wins a number of prestigious prizes in international film festivals.I remember watching this film with my parents in a local theater when I was very little, so little that I could not understand the simple story told by the film. Back then, the only thing I could remember was full screen of blood-like red colors, the vast and boundless sorghum as well as the sonorous and high-pitch northwest folk songs.The storyline is quite simple: a pretty young lady who is forced to marry a rich and leprous winery owner but who falls in love with one of the workers. After the old man dies, they live together and manage the winery. But then it comes the Japanese invasion and the family is destroyed.Zhang Yimou starts his career in film industry as a cinematographer and the control of colors and scenery is master level. Unlimited stretch of sorghum waving in the wind, dazzling red colors that nearly disable you from opening your eyes and the loud folk songs abundant in indigenous flavor all symbolize a strong sense of life and impress the audience with vitality and passion. This is also the first film that I have watched and personally it has formed a definition of a film in my mind. It is not the best yet the most cherished memory of film for me.

Michael Neumann The much heralded renaissance of New Chinese Cinema can be an acquired taste to many Western filmgoers, but this handsome period piece (directed by the cinematographer of 'Yellow Earth', 1984) is livelier and more accessible than most. Part folk tale, part historical drama, it tells the story of a young virgin (sold by her father into marriage with a wealthy leper, in return for a mule), who after her husband's mysterious death continues to run his successful vineyard, with help from her loyal wedding bearers. And yet for all its undeniable physical beauty and colorful action the film can be a dry experience, at least until the outbreak of the second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s. With the Japanese occupation some emotional urgency finally breaks through the film's mantle of reserve, which up to that point had marked even the more bawdy episodes of communal singing and drinking.

dennisyoon 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.