Red Sorghum review: The opening movie of The Garden Cinema’s Zhang Yimou retrospective shines.
Zhang Yimou’s magnificent directorial debut Red Sorghum (1987) shines as it opens a retrospective of his movies screening over the next month at London’s The Garden Cinema.
Red Sorghum tells the story of a young women married off by her parents to an old, sick, man who runs a sorghum liquor distillery. Set in 1920s and 30s rural China, it tells a fantasy of a rural China that never really existed. The story is told as a maybe true maybe not legend from an unseen narrator. He recounts how his grandmother and grandfather met.
It is based on the book Red Sorghum by China’s first Nobel laureate for literature, Mo Yan.
Starting as a romantic drama, the sudden appearance of Japanese soldiers brings about a horrific quasi-war movie in the second half.
Despite the serious themes throughout, it is also often remarkably funny. The Garden Cinema audience watching the screening broke into laughter multiple times.
He has gone on to direct over 25 movies. Ranging from To Live (1994), an adaption of the modern classic book by Yu Hua, to wuxia – historical martial art epic – House of Flying Daggers (2004). He’s even made his way to Hollywood by directing The Great Wall (2016). Beyond movies, he also directed the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremonies.
Red Sorghum also marked the acting debut of Gong Li as the lead actress. She delivers a captivating performance transforming from a vulnerable bride-to-be to a business owner. She would go on to be Zhang Yimou’s lead and muse for many of his movies.
The Garden Cinema opened Red Sorghum with an informative introduction by Victor Fan from Kings College London. Following the movie he also led a discussion with viewers on the move.
This was the opening movie in The Garden Cinema’s Zhang Yimou: A retrospective. Four years in the making, it brings together 11 of Zhang Yimou’s earlier movies. Some never before screened in the UK. The retrospective will run from July 19th to September 2nd.
For those with an interest in Chinese cinema, or just an appreciation for good cinema, Red Sorghum is an essential watch. It is a film that lingers in the mind long after the credits roll. A testament to why Zhang Yimou is renowned as one of China’s greatest directors.
Zhang Yimou: A season will be screening from July 19th to September 2nd at The Garden Cinema in London. For more details read our article on how it came about: The Garden Cinema brings Chinese great Zhang Yimou to the UK
