Red Sorghum
1988 · 1h 31m · Drama, Romance, History
Watch it. Zhang Yimou's visually stunning debut is a lush, sensual epic that weaves romance, resistance, and magical realism into something genuinely unforgettable—the kind of film that reminds you why cinema matters. Just go in expecting art-house ambition, not straightforward storytelling.
Plot
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.
Director: Zhang Yimou
Cast: Gong Li, Jiang Wen, Teng Rujun, Liu Ji, Qian Ming