Red Sorghum has received a lot of recent attention with the selection of its author, Mo Yan, for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

And now that Mo Yan is recognized with the Nobel Literature Prize, we can really say that Red Sorghum is a major breakout film for four celebrated individuals. The actor who plays the male lead, Jiang Wen ( Let the Bullets Fly, 2010 In the Heat of the Sun, 1994), is now one of China's most successful actors/directors.

In retrospect, this film not only launched the careers of the director and actress, but it also played a pivotal role in the professional lives of two other individuals. L to R: Gong Li, Mo Yan, Jiang Wen, and Zhang Yimou on the set of Red Sorghum. It won the Golden Bear (Best Picture) award at the Berlin International Film Festival and catapulted Gong and Zhang to international stardom. Red Sorghum's fresh narrative approach and the emphasis on the visual language, decidedly different from the social realist aesthetic dominant earlier, announced the arrival of a new cinematic vision. It is one of the defining films that marked the rise of Chinese Fifth Generation filmmakers, those who graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 1982 (the first class since the reopening of the preeminent film school following the end of the Cultural Revolution). Red Sorghum is the acting and directorial debut of Gong Li and Zhang Yimou, respectively. Together, they have made eight films, including Red Sorghum (1987), Ju Dou (1990), Raise the Red Lantern (1991), and The Story of Qiu Ju (1992). She is known especially for her collaborations with director Zhang Yimou. Without a doubt, Gong Li, who is one of the world's most recognized actresses, must be included in the series. This film series celebrates the most significant screen divas in the history of Chinese cinema, beginning with the silent period.

To provide some background information on both the film and the series, AsiaBlog asked Hui to discuss the experiences of Zhang Yimou and Mo Yan's generation and the significance of this film to both Chinese cinematic history and the evolution of women's roles on screen.Ĭan you describe your interest in including this film as part of the series? Several of his novels have been adapted to film by China's most accomplished directors, and one of these films, Zhang Yimou's 1987 award-winning Red Sorghum, will be showing at Asia Society New York on December 2 as part of the series GODDESS: Chinese Women on Screen, running from November 9 to December 8.Īsia Society film curator La Frances Hui chose the seminal Fifth Generation piece as part of the collection long before the Nobel Prize announcement. Mo Yan's Nobel Prize in Literature, announced last week, has given his novels unprecedented international attention, but his writing has been renowned in China for decades. Gong Li in 'Red Sorghum' (1987), directed by Zhang Yimou.

Author of red sorghum