Red Sorghum (红高粱)

Dir.: Zhang Yimou, 1987

Introduction: Andreas Steen

Set in Shandong province against the background of the Sino-Japanese War, the film portrays rural life as experienced by a young woman who owns a sorghum liquor distillery. Her fate and love relationship are at the center of the film, when suddenly the Imperial Japanese Army invades the region.

Based on a novel by the Nobel laureate Mo Yan, this is the debut film of the internationally acclaimed director Zhang Yimou, and the acting debut of young film actress Gong Li. The film won the Golden Bear Award in Berlin (1988), the national Golden Rooster Award (1988) and several other international film awards. Today, it is one of the Classics of Chinese film history that brought the 5^th generation of Chinese film directors to international fame.

(In Chinese, with English subtitles, 95 min.)

More Information here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sorghum_(film)