Any Zhang Yimou movie is great, and this one is particularly good. It's not "Raise The Red Lantern," mind, but very good, and obviously a lot of the movie was done as a sort of precursor to Raise The Red Lantern, which also features the awesomely sexy Gong Li.
The basic plot line involves a miserly old man, Jinshan, and his adopted nephew, Tianqing. Jinshan purchases a new wife, Ju Dou, played, of course, by Gong Li. It turns out he's a brutal sadist who makes up for his impotence by torturing his wives. Ju Dou turns to Tianqing, with whom she conceives a son. The movie is basically about Tianqing and Ju Dou trying to find happiness, in spite of a son who won't recognize Tianqing as his father (and later kills him), a society that won't let them marry or see each other, and a husband who, before he dies (also killed, accidentally, by the son), is just as cruel as ever, physically and psychologically. It's a very intriguing movie, with characters who, although complex, are driven by a very basic goal all of us share.
It seems like some of the other reviewers didn't actually watch the movie, though; the son, Tianbai, is not evil. It's just that he feels strong loyalty to Jinshan, the husband of his mother and the man whose house he is carrying on. He fetches no plot to kill anyone, although he does.
This is, all the way through, excellent Zhang Yimou and excellent Gong Li. A must-watch for anyone who's a fan of either.
The basic plot line involves a miserly old man, Jinshan, and his adopted nephew, Tianqing. Jinshan purchases a new wife, Ju Dou, played, of course, by Gong Li. It turns out he's a brutal sadist who makes up for his impotence by torturing his wives. Ju Dou turns to Tianqing, with whom she conceives a son. The movie is basically about Tianqing and Ju Dou trying to find happiness, in spite of a son who won't recognize Tianqing as his father (and later kills him), a society that won't let them marry or see each other, and a husband who, before he dies (also killed, accidentally, by the son), is just as cruel as ever, physically and psychologically. It's a very intriguing movie, with characters who, although complex, are driven by a very basic goal all of us share.
It seems like some of the other reviewers didn't actually watch the movie, though; the son, Tianbai, is not evil. It's just that he feels strong loyalty to Jinshan, the husband of his mother and the man whose house he is carrying on. He fetches no plot to kill anyone, although he does.
This is, all the way through, excellent Zhang Yimou and excellent Gong Li. A must-watch for anyone who's a fan of either.