In short, Chinese films got smarter, and began to be enjoyed by domestic and global audiences for their originality and insight. The trend moved on from broad-sweeping epics to cozier films centered on real family drama. In the early 1990s this precipitated greater demand for films that explore the inner workings of the human soul. It explores repressed, distorted souls and the darker side of society, while evoking the often grim realities of Chinese rural life.Ĭhina’s reform and opening-up drive having economically enriched lives, many people are showing a greater interest in exploring life’s spiritual side.

The story also differs in subject matter from Zhang’s earlier works. In striking contrast to her former screen images of a voluptuous beauty in Zhang’s directorial works, in The Story of Qiu Ju Gong Li’s character is portrayed as a clumsy, stubborn and uneducated rural woman. The story unfolds in modern rural Northwest China and tells the tale of a woman from the countryside seeking justice for her husband, who was beaten viciously by the head of the village. While Raise the Red Lantern depicts the lives of wives and concubines vying for their husband’s attention and affections in a wealthy family compound during the 1920s, The Story of Qiu Ju paints a more modern scene. Gong Li, who played Qiu Ju, also won the award for best actress. Zhang’s next directorial work, The Story of Qiu Ju, won the Golden Lion Award at the 49th Venice International Film Festival in 1992. Raise the Red Lantern won a Silver Lion for Best Director at the 48th Venice International Film Festival in 1991 and was nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 1992 Academy Awards.

The early 1990s was a high point in Zhang’s career that saw the production of several of his world-renowned films. Despite all the controversy, the film drew large domestic audiences when it was finally released for viewing. Some critics remarked that the film intentionally catered to Western stereotypes of “the orient.” The abnormal relations between the lead characters represented a “clichéd depiction of the East,” they argued. It was even banned until 1992 on the Chinese mainland. Ju Dou received many awards, but was criticized in some domestic quarters. In interviews with media, Zhang has said that Ju Dou helped him finish the transition from photographer to director and was a landmark film for him personally. Desperate Ju Dou then burns the dye house down. When he discovers his parents sleeping deeply in a stifling underground cellar after one of their trysts, Tianbai throws his father, still unconscious, into a vat of dye. The film fast-forwards to a grown-up Tianbai, who, due to gossip about Jinshan’s death, harbors great hatred toward his biological father. Knowing their infidelity would never be accepted by society, Ju Dou and Tianqing continue their relationship in secret. He attempts to kill Tianbai, who he now knows not to be his son, only to fall into a large vat of dye and drown. As a consequence Ju Dou and Tianqing become less discreet in their affair, and Jinshan discovers the deception. Jinshan later suffers a stroke, which leaves him paralyzed from the waist down. Intelligent Chinese Films Hit the Mainstream

Raise the red lantern