“Not to talk to a man who is worthy of conversation is to lose a man. And to talk to someone who is not worthy of conversation is to lose words. The wise lose neither men nor words. – Confucius
Very cool costumed parable movie with existential vector. Here is the disclosure of the philosophy of Confucius . . . which had a basis in the form of rebelliousness in the patriarchy, a barrier to everyday life within a certain collapse in the hierarchy of socially significant groups.
Here Zhang Yimou has his own film language and style, he was just as accurate from a psychological point of view also in Red Galoyan (1988) with the same vector of showing a personal shade.
In Raise the Red Lantern, Gong Li is magnificent.How divinely beautiful she is. The color and light of the painting are important here.
The film perfectly reveals the characters due to the slow rhythm of the narrative.
I recommend reading Su Tong's cool book "Wives and Concubines" (in Russian translation - "Moon at the bottom of the well"). I read it after the film and the book left a strong impression of fear and tension and sensitive beauty. The syllable is deep.
The film and the book are top scores. To atmosphere and philosophy. 😎