Red Sorghum

1988 1h 31m ZH

👍

7.2

SOLID

🍅

87%

FRESH

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 256🍅87%Rotten Tomatoes★7.3IMDB · 10,805

DramaRomanceHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An old leper who owned a remote sorghum winery dies. Jiu'er, the wife bought by the leper, and her lover, identified only as "my Grandpa" by the narrator, take over the winery and set up an idealized quasi-matriarchal community headed by Jiu'er. When the Japanese invaders subject the area to their rule and cut down the sorghum to make way for a road, the community rises up and resists as the sorghum grows anew.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Gong Li
Jiu'er
Jiang Wen
Yu
Teng Rujun
Uncle Luohan
Liu Ji
Jiu'er's Son
Qian Ming
Jiu'er's Grandmother
Ji Chunhua
Sanpao
Zhai Chunhua
Hu Er
Jia Zhaoji

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Zhang Yimou
Writers: Chen Jianyu, Zhu Wei, Li Kezhi
Languages: Japanese, Mandarin
Countries: China

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Japanese, Mandarin.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Zhang Yimou, shot by Gu Changwei. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Zhao Jiping. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Du Yuan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Gong Li and Jiang Wen and Teng Rujun carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0093206 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Zhang Yimou directs. Gu Changwei behind the camera. Zhao Jiping scores. Du Yuan cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in China. Dialogue in Japanese, Mandarin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

138 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Japanese, Mandarin.
3Directed by Zhang Yimou, shot by Gu Changwei. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Zhao Jiping. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Du Yuan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Gong Li and Jiang Wen and Teng Rujun carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0093206 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Released under 10 different titles around the world.