Raise The Red Lantern (PG)

Director Cyfarwyddwr Zhang Yimou
Starring Gyda Gong Li, Ma Jingwu, He Caifei
China Tsieina, 1991,
2 hour awr 5 minutes munud, subtitles isdeitlau

Northern China, the 1920s, Songlian agrees - to spite both her stepmother and fate - to become the fourth wife of an ageing, wealthy clan-leader, but finds herself immured in a palace plagued by paranoia, jealousy and intrigue. The red lanterns, hung outside the rooms of whichever wife is currently the object of the master's attentions, are an index of power; and Songlian, determines to wrest control from her rivals, but the real power, of course, lies with the master, and the women's in-fighting yields tragic results. Like Ju Dou, this deals with a young woman married to an older man who struggles to survive in a society defined by oppressive patriarchal tradition. Once again it is the imagery that lingers in the mind, the lavish, schematic colours, the symmetry and stillness of the compositions that stress the women's confinement by a stagnant feudal culture. The acting is again excellent, making for a near-perfect movie that often recalls the visual purity and intensity of silent cinema.

Mae Songlian yn penderfynu dod yn bedwaredd wraig i arweinydd llwyth cyfoethog yn erbyn dymuniadau ei theulu. Ond wedi gwneud y penderfyniad, dyw bywyd ddim yn fêl i gyd ac mae gwleidyddiaeth, pwer a diffyg ymddiriedaeth yn suro'i bywyd. Mae llusernau coch yn cael eu gosod y tu allan i ystafell wely pa bynnag wraig sy'n derbyn sylw'r gwr, ond mae Songlian yn benderfynol o newid pethau.

Winner Silver Lion for Best Film Venice Film Festival 1991

Winner BAFTA for Best Foreign Language Film 1993