Ju Dou
Encyclopedia
Ju Dou is a 1990
Chinese film
directed by Zhang Yimou
and Yang Fengliang
(though it is almost universally considered to be a product of Zhang's vision as director) and starring Gong Li
as the title character. It is notable for being shot in vivid Technicolor
long after the process had been abandoned in the United States
. It was also the first Mainland Chinese film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
, in 1990.
The film is a tragedy
, focusing on the characters of Ju Dou, a beautiful young woman who has been sold as a wife to Jinshan, an old cloth dyer.
The film was banned for a few years in China, but the ban has since been lifted.
Upon meeting the wife, Ju Dou (Gong Li
), Tianqing is immediately enamored with her. During the day they act with some detachment from one another, both living in fear of Jinshan. At night, Jinshan tortures Ju Dou as Tianqing is forced to listen to her cries. Eventually, Tianqing discovers Ju Dou's bathing area and spies on her. When she discovers the peephole, she is at first concerned, but eventually uses the hole to expose her bruises to him. Soon, the two are unable to control their passions any longer, and they engage in sexual intercourse next to the dye vats. When Ju Dou discovers she is pregnant, she and Tianqing carry on the façade that the child is in fact Jinshan's. The child, Tianbai is soon born and carries on Jinshan's and not Tianqing's name.
At this point, however, Jinshan suffers a stroke which leaves him paralyzed from the waist down. Confined to a wheel chair, he nevertheless discovers Ju Dou and Tianqing's affair and attempts to kill the child. Stopped by the parents, Jinshan's past cruelty is repaid upon him as he is hoisted in a large barrel, leaving him dangling helplessly during the night. Despite their happiness, Tianqing and Ju Dou suffer another setback when Ju Dou believes that she is yet again pregnant. However, later she receives her period and the couple is relieved. Knowing that society would infer and could never accept her infidelities, Ju Dou goes to a nunnery to get contraceptives. The contraceptives given to her turn out to be hot chili powder and they leave her barren.
Meanwhile Tianbai has grown into a sullen child (Yi Zhang). He has yet to speak, and both Ju Dou and Tianqing worry about him. Jin Shan meanwhile is still left in his barrel. When he sees the child, he at first attempts to push him into the dye vat, but when Tianbai calls him "Father," his heart immediately melts and he accepts the boy as his son. While Ju Dou and Tianqing are horrified, they know they can say nothing. Jinshan's happiness is short-lived, however, as he himself falls into the dye vat and drowns one day while playing with his "son," who watches the man flail helplessly but does nothing to save him. The funeral is treated with much pomp and circumstance as Confucian dogma requires both Ju Dou and Tianqing to "beg" the casket not to leave. Ju Dou, moreover, is never allowed to be with another man.
The film then cuts to ten years later. Ju Dou and Tianqing still run the dye operation, but Tianbai (now played by Zheng Ji'an) is now a rage-filled teenager. Rumors of his parents' infidelities drive him to nearly kill a local gossip. Upon discovering his parents passed out in a stifling underground cellar after one of their trysts, Tianbai drags them into the open before throwing his father into a vat. Although disoriented and short of oxygen, it seems as if Tianqing will get out. However, Tianbai clubs him with a heavy stick and knocks him unconscious, resulting in Tianqing drowning. Ju Dou then burns the mill down, and watches as the flames engulf the rolls of silk around her as the film ends.
, on June 29, 1999. The disc included English subtitles.
The film was re-released by Razor Digital Entertainment on February 14, 2006 as part of the new Zhang Yimou collection to capitalize on Zhang's recent international successes of Hero
and House of Flying Daggers
. The new edition was Region 1
and included English, simplified Chinese, and traditional Chinese subtitles. Despite the DVD box stating that the film is presented in widescreen, it is actually presented in full frame.
1990 in film
The year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2....
Chinese film
Cinema of China
The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...
directed by Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
and Yang Fengliang
Yang Fengliang
Yang Fengliang is a Chinese film director. He is best known for co-directing the Oscar-nominated film Ju Dou with Zhang Yimou.-External links:...
(though it is almost universally considered to be a product of Zhang's vision as director) and starring Gong Li
Gong Li
Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
as the title character. It is notable for being shot in vivid Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
long after the process had been abandoned in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was also the first Mainland Chinese film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, in 1990.
The film is a tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
, focusing on the characters of Ju Dou, a beautiful young woman who has been sold as a wife to Jinshan, an old cloth dyer.
The film was banned for a few years in China, but the ban has since been lifted.
Plot summary
Ju Dou takes place in the early 20th century in rural China. The story begins as Yang Tianqing (the regular Zhang collaborator Li Baotian) is returning from a trek to sell silk for his adoptive uncle, Yang Jinshan (Li Wei). Jinshan, whose trade is dyeing fabrics, is known for his cruelty and treats Tianqing with much scorn. Upon returning, Tianqing learns that Jinshan has just recently purchased a new wife, having beaten two previous wives to death after they failed to produce a son, the cruel irony being that Jinshan is in fact impotent.Upon meeting the wife, Ju Dou (Gong Li
Gong Li
Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
), Tianqing is immediately enamored with her. During the day they act with some detachment from one another, both living in fear of Jinshan. At night, Jinshan tortures Ju Dou as Tianqing is forced to listen to her cries. Eventually, Tianqing discovers Ju Dou's bathing area and spies on her. When she discovers the peephole, she is at first concerned, but eventually uses the hole to expose her bruises to him. Soon, the two are unable to control their passions any longer, and they engage in sexual intercourse next to the dye vats. When Ju Dou discovers she is pregnant, she and Tianqing carry on the façade that the child is in fact Jinshan's. The child, Tianbai is soon born and carries on Jinshan's and not Tianqing's name.
At this point, however, Jinshan suffers a stroke which leaves him paralyzed from the waist down. Confined to a wheel chair, he nevertheless discovers Ju Dou and Tianqing's affair and attempts to kill the child. Stopped by the parents, Jinshan's past cruelty is repaid upon him as he is hoisted in a large barrel, leaving him dangling helplessly during the night. Despite their happiness, Tianqing and Ju Dou suffer another setback when Ju Dou believes that she is yet again pregnant. However, later she receives her period and the couple is relieved. Knowing that society would infer and could never accept her infidelities, Ju Dou goes to a nunnery to get contraceptives. The contraceptives given to her turn out to be hot chili powder and they leave her barren.
Meanwhile Tianbai has grown into a sullen child (Yi Zhang). He has yet to speak, and both Ju Dou and Tianqing worry about him. Jin Shan meanwhile is still left in his barrel. When he sees the child, he at first attempts to push him into the dye vat, but when Tianbai calls him "Father," his heart immediately melts and he accepts the boy as his son. While Ju Dou and Tianqing are horrified, they know they can say nothing. Jinshan's happiness is short-lived, however, as he himself falls into the dye vat and drowns one day while playing with his "son," who watches the man flail helplessly but does nothing to save him. The funeral is treated with much pomp and circumstance as Confucian dogma requires both Ju Dou and Tianqing to "beg" the casket not to leave. Ju Dou, moreover, is never allowed to be with another man.
The film then cuts to ten years later. Ju Dou and Tianqing still run the dye operation, but Tianbai (now played by Zheng Ji'an) is now a rage-filled teenager. Rumors of his parents' infidelities drive him to nearly kill a local gossip. Upon discovering his parents passed out in a stifling underground cellar after one of their trysts, Tianbai drags them into the open before throwing his father into a vat. Although disoriented and short of oxygen, it seems as if Tianqing will get out. However, Tianbai clubs him with a heavy stick and knocks him unconscious, resulting in Tianqing drowning. Ju Dou then burns the mill down, and watches as the flames engulf the rolls of silk around her as the film ends.
Cast
- Gong LiGong LiGong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
, as Ju Dou (S: 菊豆, T: 菊荳, P: Jú Dòu); - Li Baotian, as Yang Tianqing (S: 杨天青, T: 楊天青, P: Yáng Tiānqīng), Ju Dou's lover and Yang Jinshan's adopted nephew;
- Li Wei, as Yang Jinshan (S: 杨金山, T: 楊金山, P: Yáng Jīnshān), the owner of the dye mill and Ju Dou's husband;
- Yi Zhang, as Yang Tianbai (S: 杨天白, T: 楊天白, P: Yáng Tiānbái) as a child; Ju Dou and Tianqing's son;
- Zheng Ji'an, as Tianbai as a youth.
Awards
- Cannes Film Festival1990 Cannes Film Festival- Jury :*Bernardo Bertolucci *Alexei Guerman *Anjelica Huston *Bertrand Blier *Christopher Hampton*Fanny Ardant *Françoise Giroud *Hayao Shibata *Mira Nair *Sven Nykvist...
, 19901990 in filmThe year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2....
- Luis Buñuel Special Award
- Palme d'OrPalme d'OrThe Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
(nominate)
- Valladolid International Film Festival, 19901990 in filmThe year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2....
- Golden Spike
- Chicago International Film FestivalChicago International Film FestivalThe Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
, 19901990 in filmThe year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2....
- Gold Hugo
- Norwegian International Film FestivalNorwegian International Film FestivalThe Norwegian International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in Haugesund, Norway. The festival goes back to 1973.In 1985, the Amanda award was instituted. The Amanda is awarded every year at the festival in different movie categories...
, 19901990 in filmThe year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2....
- Best Foreign Feature Film (Amanda)
- 63rd Academy Awards63rd Academy AwardsThe 63rd Academy Awards were presented March 25, 1991 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The show was hosted by Billy Crystal.The prominent winner was Dances with Wolves which earned seven Oscars, including Best Picture. Joe Pesci winning Best Supporting Actor...
, 19911991 in filmThe year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November...
- Best Foreign Language FilmAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language FilmThe Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
(nominated)
- Best Foreign Language Film
DVD release
Ju Dou was initially released on DVD in the United States as an all-region disc on the Pioneer label, Geneon EntertainmentGeneon
is a Japanese music, anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan...
, on June 29, 1999. The disc included English subtitles.
The film was re-released by Razor Digital Entertainment on February 14, 2006 as part of the new Zhang Yimou collection to capitalize on Zhang's recent international successes of Hero
Hero (2002 film)
Hero is a 2002 wuxia film directed by Zhang Yimou. Starring Jet Li as the nameless protagonist, the film is based on the story of Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin in 227 BC....
and House of Flying Daggers
House of Flying Daggers
House of Flying Daggers is a 2004 wuxia film directed by Zhang Yimou. It differs from other wuxia films in that it is more of a love story than a straight martial arts film....
. The new edition was Region 1
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
and included English, simplified Chinese, and traditional Chinese subtitles. Despite the DVD box stating that the film is presented in widescreen, it is actually presented in full frame.