Raise The Red Lantern

The first film I decided to watch was Raise The Red Lantern. This Film was directed by Zhang Yimou who also directed "Hero" and " House of Flying daggers". Raise The Red Lantern was a academy award nominee for Best Foreign Film, and it defiantly deserved it. This was a wonderful movie about a young women named Songlian who was played by Gong Li. Songlian had a very bright future ahead of her, she was being educated at a university and had alot going for her. But unfortunately her father had just passed away and her stepmother forces her to go off and be married to a man who already had three different wife's who all live in there own houses in the family compound. songlian doesn't want this life but knows that going to school isn't an option due to lack of money.

As Songlian arrives to this family compound which is closed off to the outsides, she meets the three other wife's which are all called First Mistress, Second Mistress and Third mistress and not by there first names. Shes very out of place at first she doesn't want to have nothing to do with the Master or any of the women until she becomes friends with Mistress number 2 because shes really nice to her and talks to her but later on we find out Mistress Number 2 isn't so nice and is very sneaky and is trying to sabotage all of the other mistress behind there backs.
throughout the film all that, the women want is the masters attention and hope for the red lantern to be lit in front of there door each night, this shows whom the master chooses to sleep with . Soon Songlian becomes this completely different person , she was very sweet and innocent in the beginning then starts making up lies and doing things that end up hurting other people in the end. Toward the end of the film it all hits her that this is all a game and her life will never be the same.


Before watching this film I had heard it wasn't that good, but I have to say that I really did enjoy it. I loved Gong Li character Songlian and how such a great job she did in this role. It was really weird to see how they all called each other first mistress or fourth mistress when they have names, it was like there were cats and dogs and not people. It was also was sad to watch her Songlain to have to give up her future to have to go live in a world that seems like you were dead. Every little thing from morning to night had to be done by Family coustomes from the past However it was very interesting to see culture come through in the film. I think the film focused alot on showing how Passion can get in the way of who you are. We watch Songlian go from this girl who doesn't want anything to do with this place, then trys to do everything she can for attention from the master to not caring about anything again. I believe that Songlian wish she was in Yang and the Third Mistress place toward the end of the film you can tell she rather have been dead. I also loved the music in the Movie.