Ju Dou (1990)
Zhang Yimou, Fengliang Yang
China, Japan
95 min, color, Mandarin (English subtitles)
Set in 1920 China, the story of an impotent wife-beater Jin-shan (Wei Li), his young and beautiful wife, Ju Dou (Li Gong), and his (adopted) nephew, Tian-qing (Baotian Li). The plot can be roughly divided into three parts.
Part one is the setting of the story. Jin-shan is an owner of a dye factory and although he is twice widowed (beat his wives to death), he does not have a heir to continue his family line. He buys his third wife, Ju Dou, and brutalizes her every night ("you are no better than an animal") because she can't get pregnant. As it turns out, the problem is entirely his fault because he has problem performing in bed. The adopted nephew, Jin-shan quickly falls for Ju Dou, especially after spying on her bathing through a hole in the wall. When Ju Dou discovers the hole, her initial reaction is to plug it in disgust, but she later reveals her battered body to Tian-qing in the hopes of eliciting sympathy. Although hesitant at first, Tian-qing gives in to her charms and they start an affair, which results in her getting pregnant.
The second part concerns the birth of the child (who Jin-shan erroneously believes to be his), the continuation of the (very sexual) relationship between the two lovers, the crippling of the husband and the discovery that the boy Tianbai is not his son. Jin-shan's first reaction is to try and kill the boy and his unfaithful wife but he fails. The two lovers keep the husband alive to preserve the affair from the community. Jin-shan continuously plots to murder the child, who, for some strange reason, does not say a word. This continues until one day, the three-year old calls Jin-shan "daddy," upon which the old cripple bursts into tears of joy and accepts him as his son, much to the consternation of the two lovers. Unfortunately, the boy accidentally overturns Jin-shan's chair contraption and he drowns in a dyeing pool. This, however, turns out for the worst as far as Ju Dou and Tian-qing are concerned, for the family forbids her to remarry (according to custom) and orders him to move out of the premises (to preserve respectability). Thus, even with the death of the main source of separation between them, the two lovers cannot complete their union. The end of part two.
The third part revolves around the growing Tianbai, a ridiculously spoiled brat of a monster, who hates his mother and his "brother" (he has seen them repeatedly in revealing scenes). One day, after Tianbai kicks Tian-qing in the mouth, Ju Dou tells him that Tian-qing is, in fact, his father. This, however, only increases the boy's hatred and he ends up murdering Tian-qing. Ju Dou goes insane (or perhaps desperate) and burns down the dye factory, immolating herself (and maybe Tianbai) in the process.
Some think that the story is melodramatic, I, for one, think it's quite tragic. The young woman, brutally beaten by her husband and naturally driven to another in search for comfort, dignity, and sexual gratification, is a very sympathetic character. I did not much care about the weakling Tian-qing, who is quite spineless for the supportive role he was supposed to play. The constant inability to realize their relationship in the open, whether caused by marriage, social custom, or law, is depressing. Yet, the two's perseverance is touching. At first, I thought that Ju Dou was manipulating Tian-qing into murdering her husband, but that turned out not to be the case. It was a simple love story complicated by Chinese traditions.
I don't see why the film was banned in China, except maybe because of the really strong female role of Ju Dou. Not only does she cheat on her husband, has another's child, but also torments the husband by telling him the child is not his, and taunts him by openly having sex with the other. Although it may be shocking to some prudes, the husband entirely deserved what befell him. On the other hand, I wish she could discipline the child. I certainly would not have tolerated his ridiculous outbursts.
This is a beautiful and very touching film. Gong Li is absolutely superb both as a battered wife and as a passionate lover. The cinematography is excellent (check out the scene with the crippled husband trying to set the house on fire, especially when he was dragging long lines of red cloth around), and the music is well suited. Definitely worth seing, just as the director's other masterpiece "Raise the Red Lantern" (which also features Gong Li).
March 22, 2001. BLS