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.
Like Zhang's later film, "The Road Home" (1999), "Red Sorghum" is narrated by the main characters' grandson, but "Red Sorghum" lacks the flashback framing device of "The Road Home" (the viewer never sees the narrator). The cinematography by Gu Changwei makes use of rich, intense colors. Zhang himself was a cinematographer prior to his directorial debut, and worked closely with Gu. Indeed, it is the colors, coupled with the expressions of the lead actress, that really sell this film.
Wang Yichuan pointed to the director's fascination with the "strongman," and found hints of a "fascist aesthetics" in the film. This would not have occurred to me, but it is certainly visible. The question is then asked: does this carry through all his work?
Like Zhang's later film, "The Road Home" (1999), "Red Sorghum" is narrated by the main characters' grandson, but "Red Sorghum" lacks the flashback framing device of "The Road Home" (the viewer never sees the narrator). The cinematography by Gu Changwei makes use of rich, intense colors. Zhang himself was a cinematographer prior to his directorial debut, and worked closely with Gu. Indeed, it is the colors, coupled with the expressions of the lead actress, that really sell this film.
Wang Yichuan pointed to the director's fascination with the "strongman," and found hints of a "fascist aesthetics" in the film. This would not have occurred to me, but it is certainly visible. The question is then asked: does this carry through all his work?