Films I Watched This Week — Oct 21–27, 2024
Ju Dou (1990)
Ju Dou (1990) is another masterpiece made by the brilliant Chinese director Zhang Yimou. The movie is set in the rigid feudal society of the 1920s. It tells the story of a wealthy old man who marries a beautiful bride (Gong Li) and hires his young desperate nephew and enslaves both of them with his cruel will. The old man cruelly beats and tortures his wife through sadistic sex games, justifying his rage for her not giving him a son; even though we learn the old man is impotent. The nephew is immediately infaturated with his uncles wife, and once she notices this she seduces him when the old man is out. She announces she is pregnant and convinces the old man it is his own. The two lovers carry on their affair while the infant grows into a hateful, strong-willed little monster. One day, the old man suffers a stroke and is now crippled from the waist down. Now, the tables have turned for the lovers as the old man becomes basically helpless. One evening, after the old man grows suspicious of the two, they both cruelly reveal to him that the child is not his. They discuss murdering the old man with Strychnine but would rather keep him alive as their slave, forcing him to witness their debauchary. The deception of their affair become even more dangerous when the child grows old enough to understand what is going on. Ironically, he resembles more the old man rather than the man who fathered him. This probably is because the old man exerted influence over their child and when the child addresses him as "Father," the old man interprets it as psychological revenge against his wife and nephew for betraying him. Ju Dou was one of the most controversial movies in China at the time and it was banned arguably due for many reasons. The frank sexuality, the way a powerful elderly man was depicted, and a married woman having an affair with her nephew. But some thought it was more because of the political allegories. Many people see the old man as an example of the old order of Maoism, and the hateful boy as a symbol of the Red Guard.
Red Sorghum (1988)
Red Sorghum is the directorial debut of filmmaker Zhang Yimou and the acting debut of Gong Li. It is a strange and beautiful melodrama told in flashbacks from the point of view of a man recalling his grandparents' lives as they try, and finally fail, to protect their village winery from Japanese invaders. It is a lyrical film, which seems, at times, almost like a folk tale, an old family story passed down from generation to generation as it challenges repressive traditions such as the subjugation of women. The rich melodrama and magic realism of Red Sorghum takes an unexpected turn into realism, when World War II begins, and Japanese troops invade the area. There is a sequence that presents shocking violent imagery of degradation and genocide and is a dramatic change from the fable that went before. The folk tale is then dead, and only tragic realism remains.
My Brilliant Career (1979)
My Brilliant Career is cited as a milestone in Australian feminist cinema. This Australian film is a charming look at 19th-century rural days in general and the stirrings of self-realization and feminine liberation in the persona of a headstrong young girl who wants to go her own way.
Mudbound (2017)
"Dee Ree's Mudbound is a modern day epic, where none of the characters escape unscathed, and no good deed goes unpunished."
Pusher (1996)
A solid crime thriller made on a shoe string budget and an electrifying debut from a first time director.
Pusher II (2004)
A sequel that is superior to the original with a powerful lead performance by the great Mads Mikkelsen who plays a down and out loser. He becomes just likable enough in the end that we find ourselves rooting for the character as he tries to redeem himself by saving the life of an innocent.
The 3 Penny Opera (1931)
Weekend (2011)
A sensitive love story about two lonely people who not only live in the moments they spend together, but make the most of them.
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