Rent Raise the Red Lantern on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: Su Tong (original novel "Wives and Concubines" by), Ni Zhen (scriptwriter)
Directed by: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Gong Li, Ma Jingwu, He Saifei, Cao Cuifen, Jin Shuyuan
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer
Plot
In this Chinese language film, a young woman becomes the fourth concubine of a wealthy man during the 1920s and soon realizes there's fierce competition for his attention and the associated privileges.
Verdict
This is a system devised by the patriarchy with four women, concubines, vying for the attention of one man. That develops contention and jealousy among them as it's a game of winners and losers. The production value is stunning, providing a luxurious setting for a story that's heartbreaking. This life is the best for which Songlian could hope, and by the end she's reduced to a shell of herself. The master is always just out of focus pulling the strings, and that's by design.
Watch It.
Review
Opening with a conversation about Songlian's (Gong Li) future and an impending marriage, she states she has no choice but to marry for money. While she'll be taken care of, she will be a concubine. She can't afford college, and this is the best life for which she can hope.
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| Gong Li plays Songlian |
Set in Republican China during the 1920s, the production values are great. This used a period correct mansion for the location, and the red lanterns create a great visual contrast.
Songlian spends the first night with her new husband, but we never clearly see him. I wondered if that was by design, and it is. He's always just at the edge of the screen and out of focus. With four wives and one man, that creates competition. The other wives all want the husband's attentions. Even on Songlian's first night, the third mistress Meishan (He Saifei) requests his presence. It's an insult, but Songlian is still trying to figure out her place. The next day she meets the first mistress, Yuru (Jin Shuyuan), who is curt. The second, Zhuoyun (Cao Cuifen), seems friendly. She tells Songlian how the red lanterns signify where the husband will spend the night. That also means that mistress gets special attention.
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| Cao Cuifen, Gong Li play Zhuoyun, Songlian |
It looks like a lot of petty infighting, but with the dynamic of this place at the time, it takes on a different tone. These women are forced into this competition, hoping for some amount of attention. Meishan, a former opera singer, wakes Songlian and the husband early by singing. Despite the pettiness, Songlian goes to watch her sing. When she returns, she finds the husband in bed with her servant Yan'er. Yan'er is jealous of Songlian, hoping the master's favor would have made her the fourth mistress.
Songlian later discovers the second mistress isn't all that friendly Meishan confides she's the most scared of Zhuoyun. She's the one that pitted Songlian against Meishan, jealous at being replaced. She also helped Yan'er create a cursed doll of Songlian.
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| He Saifei, Jin Shuyuan, Gong Li, Cao Cuifen play Meishan, Yuru, Songlian, Zhuoyun |
All four of these concubines vie for the attention of one man. Each has to find a way to curry his favor, and the easiest way is usually some kind of subterfuge. As Songlian admitted, this was the best avenue for her life. With her father deceased, she couldn't continue school and had to settle.
In an effort to monopolize the husband's attention, Songlian creates quite the story. She's eventually outed by Yan'er in concert with Zhuoyun. Songlian retaliates, and Yan'er faces harsh consequences. This is a system of winners and losers devised by the patriarchy. After the ruse Songlian is further isolated. She has no one, and no prospects of the husband coming back as punishment for her deceit.
The next year a new mistress arrives. Each new mistress means the existing ones gets less attention. Songlian felt she had no choice, that a concubine was the best she could do with her life. In the tragic conclusion, grief has rendered her despondent. It turns out that being a concubine was no life at all.
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