We continue our mini Zhang Yimou film festival with the tragic romance Ju Dou (菊豆). We chat about the characters and their place as archetypes and metaphors, the striking visuals, the claustrophobic setting, uncle/fathers, creepy kids, and patriarchy, man. Patriarchy.
I Love This You Should Too is hosted by Samantha and Indy Randhawa
Ju Dou is a 1990 romantic-drama film directed by Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang, starring Gong Li as the title character. The film, based on the novel Fuxi, Fuxi (伏羲伏羲) by Liu Heng, is a tragedy that revolves around Ju Dou, a beautiful young woman sold as a wife to Jinshan, an elderly cloth dyer. The film was produced using the vivid Technicolor process, long after it had been abandoned in the United States. It became the first Chinese film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Upon its release, Ju Dou faced a ban in China, which was eventually lifted in July 1992.
