Films › Zhang Yimou

Raise the Red Lantern (1991)

Film

DirectorZhang Yimou

Meta takes3

Figures

Characters

The film's adaptation of the protagonist from Su Tong's novella, "Wives and Concubines." → Narrative Condensation

Objects & symbols

The red lanterns as a central visual motif.

Locations

The unseen Master and the rigid, arbitrary house rules. → The Trojan Horse Narrative

Form & technique

The film's highly stylized aesthetic and ritualistic customs. → The Exoticized Other

Tropes

Songlian's performance of femininity and subsequent madness.
The architecture of the Chen family compound.
The competition between the wives for the Master's attention.
The film's divergent reception in China versus the West.

Films most connected to Raise the Red Lantern

Dune (1984) — via The Exoticized Other, Narrative Condensation
Maudie (2016) — via Narrative Condensation
The Hunt for Red October (?) — via Narrative Condensation
The Green Mile (1999) — via Narrative Condensation
A History of Violence (2005) — via The Trojan Horse Narrative
Dogville (2003) — via The Trojan Horse Narrative
Saw (2004) — via The Trojan Horse Narrative
Hook (1991) — via The Trojan Horse Narrative