Film studies
The article of David Neo “Red Sorghum: A search for roots” presents the analysis of the same name movie. The author tells about the director of the film who belongs to the so -called “fifth generation” of Chinese filmmakers. This generation of directors retreated from the existing traditions of Chinese cinema and created a lot of films that have gained international approval.
The main idea of the article is that the film “Red Sorghum” shows a simple life of Chinese people and traditions of patriarchal society: “who and how did our (Chinese) ancestors come about?” (Neo). The author considers that a “return to roots” is expressed in the film through the demonstration of carnal needs of the heroes. He sees this demonstration in the depiction of half-naked sedan-bearers or laborers in loin-cloths making wine and in the texts of folk songs. He calls this raw masculinity opposed to the traditional image of a Chinese man in movies. But it seems to me that the director didn’t want to show a determinant role of carnal needs in the Chinese tradition. He just portrayed their life in the way it was - natural, unembellished. It is obvious that carnal needs take an important place in every tradition. Cooking food and eating, love and marriage, rearing children are basic needs, but they don’t determine the behavior of people in their attitude to each other. So sedan-bearers have naked torsos because it is traditional for this profession in China. Of course, behavior of the characters sometimes is eccentric, but it’s not a demonstration of their masculinity but their emotions. This is a style of communication, an available way of expressing feelings.
Works cited
Neo, David. "Red Sorghum: A Search for Roots." Senses of Cinema RSS. N.p., 17 Oct. 2003. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. <http://sensesofcinema.com/2003/cteq/red_sorghum/>.
Red sorghum. Dir. Zhang Yimou. Perf. Gong Li, Jiang Wen, Ji Cun-Hua, Teng Rujun. Xi'an Film Studio [producer], 1987. DVD.
