Raise the Red Lantern

Raise the Red Lantern is a 1991 Chinese period drama film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It is an adaptation by Ni Zhen [zh] of the 1990 novella Raise the Red Lantern (originally Wives and Concubines) by Su Tong. The film was later adapted into a ballet of the same title by the National Ballet of China, also directed by Zhang. Set during the Warlord Era in the 1920s, the film tells the story of a young woman who becomes the fourth wife of a wealthy man. It was the fourth of nine collaborations between Zhang and Gong. The film was shot in the Qiao Family Compound near the ancient city of Pingyao, in Shanxi Province.
Raise the Red Lantern received widespread critical acclaim. It was entered into the 48th Venice International Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion and won the Silver Lion. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and won the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language. It is considered an important work in the so-called Fifth Generation movement of Chinese cinema and is one of the most internationally highly-regarded films from mainland China overall; it appeared on The New York Times's list of the 1000 best films ever made in 2004 and on the BBC's list of the 100 greatest foreign language films in 2018.
The film is set in Republican China during the 1920s. Nineteen-year-old Songlian (Gong Li), an educated woman whose father has recently died and left the family bankrupt, is forced by her stepmother to marry into the wealthy Chen family, becoming the fourth wife or, as she is referred to, the Fourth Mistress (Sì Tàitai) of the household. Arriving at the abode, she is at first treated like royalty, receiving foot massages and brightly lit red lanterns, as well as a visit from her husband, Master Chen (Ma Jingwu), the master of the house, whose face is never clearly shown.
Songlian soon discovers, however, that not all the wives in the household receive the same luxurious treatment. In fact, the master decides on a daily basis which wife he will spend the night with; whomever he chooses gets her lanterns lit, receives the foot massage, gets her choice of menu items at mealtime, and gets the most attention and respect from the servants.
The First Mistress, Yuru (Jin Shuyuan), appears to be nearly as old as the master himself. Having borne a son decades earlier, she appears firm and rigid. The Second Mistress, Zhuoyun (Zhuóyún, Cao Cuifen), befriends Songlian, complimenting her youth and beauty, and giving her expensive silk as a gift; she also warns her about the Third Mistress, Meishan (Méishan, He Saifei), a former opera singer who is spoiled and unable to cope with no longer being the youngest and most favored. Meishan is aloof and cold towards Songlian. Songlian accidentally cuts Zhuoyun while cutting her hair. Meishan reveals Zhouyan's treachery when they were both pregnant with children. She advises Songlian to bear the master a son if she wants to maintain her place.
Songlian also has to deal with her personal maid, Yan'er (Yàn'ér, played by Kong Lin), who resents her. Songlian catches Yan'er fooling around with the Master in her bed.
Songlian while searching for a lost flute discovers that Yan'er has red lanterns concealed in her room which is forbidden. She promises not to tell anyone if Yan'er reveals who had put Songlian's name on a curse charm she discovered previously and Yan'er reveals it to be Zhuoyan.
Songlian feigns pregnancy, attempting to garner the majority of the master's time and, at the same time, attempting to become actually pregnant. Zhuoyun, however, is in league with Yan'er who finds and reveals a pair of bloodied undergarments, suggesting that Songlian had recently had her period, and discovers the pregnancy is a fraud. Zhuoyun summons the family physician, feigning concern for Songlian's "pregnancy". Doctor Gao (Gao-yisheng, Cui Zhigang), examines Songlian and determines the pregnancy to be a sham. Infuriated, the master orders Songlian's lanterns covered with thick black canvas bags indefinitely. Blaming the sequence of events on Yan'er, Songlian reveals to the house that Yan'er's room is filled with red lanterns, which is against the rules.
Yan'er is punished by having to kneel in the snow until she apologizes. Yan'er refuses to apologize, and thus remains kneeling in the snow throughout the night until she collapses. Yan'er falls sick and is taken to the hospital.
Songlian while speaking to Meishan and muses that it would be better if just hung herself. Meishan says that she copes by amusing herself. Songlian said that she has Doctor Gao to keep her happy. Meishan warns Songlian that if she tells anyone she will have to deal with her. Meishan said she was going to see Gao that night and there is nothing they can do about it.
Songlian then asks for alcohol and a dinner to celebrate her twentieth birthday by herself. The servant tells her that Yan'er had died and that she died saying her name. She drinks to intoxication and laments she is all alone. Zhouyun comes with a servant to try to stop her behavior. She blurts out that Meishan had gone to see Doctor Gao but she has no one. When Songlian awakes she hears Meishan being dragged by the servants. Zhouyan thanks Songlian for letting her know. Zhouyan's servant tells Songlian that Zhouyan had found Meishan and the Doctor in bed in a hotel and that it was Songlian who told Zhouyan this while she was drunk.
Later Songlian sees Meishan dragged to a segregated room (referred to as the room of death earlier on) on the roof of the estate. After the servants leave Songlian goes into the room and becomes hysterical calling everyone a murderer.
The Master demands to know what Songlian saw. Songlian in a distraught state said they were murderers. The Master tells her she did not see a thing.
Later, the servants discover all the lanterns to be lit in Meishan's room. A phonograph of her singing can be heard. The servants run out saying the place is haunted. Songlian is seen as the one who staged this and sits by herself in the room.
The following summer, after the Master's marriage to yet another mistress, the new mistress is getting her foot massage and asks who the person in the courtyard is. The servant says that it was the fourth mistress and she has gone insane.
Songlian is shown wandering aimlessly in the compound in her old schoolgirl clothes.
All songs composed by Zhao Jiping.
Raise the Red Lantern has been distributed on VHS, Laserdisc and DVD by numerous different distributors, with many coming under criticism for their poor quality.
The Razor Digital Entertainment DVD release has been widely criticised. DVD Times states "Many other viewers will find this DVD release simply intolerable." DVDTown criticised the same release, giving the video quality 1 out of 10 and the audio quality 6 out of 10, summarising that "the video is a disaster". DVDFile adds to this stating "this horrible DVD is only recommended to those who love the movie so much, that they’ll put up with anything to own a Region 1 release." The translation on this version has been also widely criticised for its numerous inaccuracies. A release by Rajon Vision has also received poor commentary.
ERA's first release received similar attention but the second digitally remastered edition has been more warmly received with DVD Times stating that "It's a film that really needs a Criterion edition with a new print or a full restoration, but in the absence of any likelihood of that, this Era Hong Kong edition is about as good as you could hope for." DVDBeaver broadly agrees stating "Now, this is not Criterion image quality, but it is not bad at all. It is easily the best digital representation of this film currently available." DVD Talk, though, believes that "This new version is a stunner".
A new MGM release in 2007 has also received some positive feedback.
Raise the Red Lantern has sold copyright to 35 countries worldwide. It was a big hit in Europe, with 43 copies touring in Italy, from big towns to small towns, grossing more than $3 million. France, with nine copies, grossing more than $2 million. It was released on March 13, 1992, and final grossing in the US market is $2,603,061. Outside Asia, Raise the Red Lantern earned of $11 million for production company HK ERA International
Described as "one of the landmark films of the 1990s" by Jonathan Crow of AllMovie, where it received five out of five, Raise the Red Lantern has been well received. James Berardinelli named it his 7th best film of the 1990s. It has a 97% rating at review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 8.5/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Visually thrilling and rich with emotion, Raise the Red Lantern offers an engrossing period drama anchored by an outstanding performance from Gong Li". TV Guide gave it five out of five. However, there were a small number of negative reviews: Hal Hinson of The Washington Post, for example, stated that "the story never amounts to much more than a rather tepid Chinese rendition of "The Women." The film ranked #28 in Empire magazines "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.
The film has also been praised for its artistic merit. Desson Howe of The Washington Post stated that "In purely aesthetic terms, "Raise the Red Lantern" is breathtaking" and James Berardinelli stated that "the appeal to the eye only heightens the movie's emotional power". John Hartl of Film.com described it to be "a near-perfect movie that often recalls the visual purity and intensity of silent films". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film four out of four stars, praising its screenplay, actors, and visuals; there he concluded as thus "There is a sense in which 'Raise the Red Lantern' exists solely for the eyes. Entirely apart from the plot, there is the sensuous pleasure of the architecture, the fabrics, the color contrasts, the faces of the actresses. But beneath the beauty is the cruel reality of this life, just as beneath the comfort of the rich man's house is the sin of slavery." He later placed the film on his "Great Movies" list.
The film's popularity has also been attributed to a resurgence in Chinese tourism after the government response to the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989, due to its use of exotic locations.
Raise the Red Lantern was one of the films with most appearances on 1992's year-end lists, appearing on 36 lists.