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Actors: Gong Li, Li Baotian, Li Wei
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Ju Dou |
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Ju Dou is the young new third wife of an elderly and brutal dye merchant in a small Chinese town in the 1920s. Also living on the premises is the merchant's adopted nephew, Tian-qing, who is about 40. Tian-qing peeks at Ju Dou during her baths, and can't help hearing the yelling and screaming as her husband abuses her at night. Eventually the two cowed younger folks collide with passion, and she bears his child, which the merchant takes to be his own (for a while). This early Zhang Yimou co-directed film features breathtakingly gorgeous photography -- the colors, lighting, and textures of nearly every shot are astounding -- and the simplicity of a Greek tragedy. It's also an early performance by actress Gong Li, as a sort of fragile, trapped wolf who seduces her "nephew," and she is of course magnificent. The 1990 production was censored and banned in China because it showed a female character rebelling against a male in authority, but official protests lodged by Scorsese, Lucas, Spielberg, and Woody Allen got the film released in the West.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Ju Dou |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1900-1920's
Romance/Love/Hugging
Yes
Kind of romance:
- love triangle/polygon
Family, struggling with
Yes
Struggle with:
- Uncle
Ethnic/Regional/Gender story?
Yes
Main Char. ethnic: (if not US Caucasian)
- Chinese
Culture of surrounding area:
- Chinese
Lover is...
- of a different social class
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- blue collar
Age:
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Body type
- (man) very skinny
Unclothed?
- Chest
Events of movie makes character more...
- sad
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Chinese
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn straight
How much in movie?
- 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Chinese
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 60's-90's
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Eccentric:
Yes
- emotionally unstable
- obsessed
- deluded
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 60%
Body type
- (man) average
unclothed?
- chest
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Chinese
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Asia/Pacific/Middle East
Yes
Asian country:
- China
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
- dumb Rednecks, like Gomer Pyle
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Movie makes you feel...
- depressed/sad
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
- sex under blankets
Non-American film?
Yes
What language?
- Chinese
Subtitles?
- Yes
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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