Yimou Zhang's Technicolor tragedy centres on the ill-fated Ju Dou, an indentured wife and labourer sold to the barbarous Jin-shan, owner of the local dye mill. Jin-shan's put upon nephew Tianqing falls immediately for his new auntie. Their coupling produces a child that brings temporary respite for Ju Dou, but new complications, and further tragedies, await.
Brutal and exquisite in equal measure, Ju Dou is high tragedy set amongst the lower order. Ju Dou (an indomitable Li Gong) fights to have any kind of life, finding in Tianqing (a delicate Li Baotian) a true soul-mate. The marriage that brings each into the sphere of the other means their relationship is taboo (Ang Lee surely had this film as a reference for Brokeback Mountain), and their compassion means Jin-shan is always around to try and thwart their happiness. The illegitimate child who holds their hopes in his existence instead becomes a weapon wielded by an unkind universe to punish them further.
If Tianqing existed in the west, he would be Hardy's Jude. Or Hamlet. A truly cathartic, beautiful film.
Brutal and exquisite in equal measure, Ju Dou is high tragedy set amongst the lower order. Ju Dou (an indomitable Li Gong) fights to have any kind of life, finding in Tianqing (a delicate Li Baotian) a true soul-mate. The marriage that brings each into the sphere of the other means their relationship is taboo (Ang Lee surely had this film as a reference for Brokeback Mountain), and their compassion means Jin-shan is always around to try and thwart their happiness. The illegitimate child who holds their hopes in his existence instead becomes a weapon wielded by an unkind universe to punish them further.
If Tianqing existed in the west, he would be Hardy's Jude. Or Hamlet. A truly cathartic, beautiful film.