Year: 1991 Rated PG Genre: Psychological Drama Language: Chinese (Mandarin) Runtime: 2:05:00 Director: 张艺谋 (Zhang Yi Mou) Main Cast: 巩俐 (Gong Li), 何赛飞 (He Sai Fei), 曹翠芬 (Cao Cui Fen), 孔琳 (Kong Lin), 金淑媛(Jin Shu Yuan), 崔志刚 (Cui Zhi Gang), 初晓 (Chu Xiao), 马精武 (Ma Jing Wu)
Notable Mentions: Zhang Yi Mou's Direction and Ni Zhen's Screenplay
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Another almost masterpiece.
I like this film so much more after the second watch. It is so rich. The plot is packed. The cinematography, the color is striking. There are many aspects of the film I love.
I like this film so much more after the second watch. It is so rich. There are many aspects of the film I love. The color is stunning. The red against the grey. I love that the film is shot almost entirely inside the housing complex. It's claustrophobic. It enhances a sense of loneliness and helplessness. I love that the film never showed the master's face. This is a story about the four wives. I love the many far away shots. I love many scenes' composition. The scene on the roof when the fourth wife meets the son. As they part, they looked back at each other. In between was that large room that seperates them. Symbolic. Effective. The eldest son was in two scenes. And those two scenes said so much.
The only item I don't like about the film is the over decoration inside the third wives' room. It was way over the top. Like we get it. She's a former Chinese opera performer.
