1) Zhang Yi Mou is a Chinese film director known for using his films to reflect historical periods and politics in China. 2) His debut film Red Sorghum takes place in rural China during the Sino-Japanese war and tells the story of a strong female protagonist named Jiu Er through the perspective of her grandson. 3) The film explores themes of national spirit and resistance as Jiu Er takes over her husband's winery and seeks revenge against Japanese soldiers who kill her friend, representing the strength and morality of the Chinese people.

1. Point College
Title: Movie related to political (Zhang Yi Mou)
Assignment No.: 3
Date: 13/07/2015
Name: Lee Sweet Wan
Course: Asian Cinema

2. ZHANG YI MOU
Zhang Yi Mou is a Chinese Film Director, Producer, Writer, Actor and Former
Cinematographer. (information from wikipedia) He is one of the director from
fifth generation of Chinese filmmakers which also included Chen Kai Ge,
Huang Jian Xin, Tian Zhuang Zhuang, Zhang Jun Zhao and others. The film of
Zhang Jun Zhao which named One and Eight that released on year 1983 and the
film of Chen Kai Ge which named Yellow Earth that released on year 1984
were the lead or the beginning of the Fifth Generation. In addition, Zhang Yi
Mou is the cinematographer/director of photography of Chen Kai Ge's Yellow
Earth.
After that, he make his first debut film that named Red Sorghum which released
on year 1987. The film is lead by the main actress named Gong Li. After being
the actress in Zhang Yi Mou's Red Sorghum, she been attention to more people
and she is now one of the famous international actress. Most of the director
trying to use their film as a channel to talk about something and Zhang Yi Mou
is a director that usually uses his films to reflect the historical periods. Besides,
he often uses his film to talk about the politics of China. The reason why am I
saying this is because I found it in his first debut film, Red Sorghum.
Red Sorghum is the story that takes place in a rural village in China's eastern
province of Shandong during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The film is
narrated from the point of view of the protagonist's grandson, who thinking
back about his grandmother, Jiu Er's life. (information from wikipedia)
What so special in the film with the protagonist, Jiu Er which cast by Gong Li is
the representation of the feminine. Jiu Er, the narrator's grandmother who forced
to be in a pre-arranged marriage with Li Da Tou who owns a winery. A pre-
arranged marriage may sound ridiculous for this generation because girls
nowadays rather live by their own than marry to a guy that they do not know.
Unfortunately, even if girls or woman don'twant to but still they have to follow
or obey their parents as all them want is to let their daughter marry a rich guy
then can live on a life without worrying about the money. On her day to marry,
she flirts with the head sedan-carrier who is the grandfather of the narrator, after
he save her out from some robbers. They fall in love with each other. There is

3. one scene I found out that Zhang Yi Mou daringly shows the sexuality in his
film. For example, there is a scene showing Jiu Er was slowly lying down in the
Sorghum field and the head sedan-carrier knees down to Jiu Er then following
by some red sunlight and some background music. Jiu Er didn't shows
unwillingness towards that. What Jiu Er doing is totally a serious violation to
his husband as woman in the past time should keep her virginity to her husband.
Although the scene didn't show out all the way like the details and all that but
the sexually suggestive is there.
Other than the enlightened in love, there is also some national spirit showing in
the film. Zhang Yi Mou wanted to use the unusual love story to show the theme
of national spirit. After her husband died, Jiu Er takes over the winery by herself
and of coursewith some workers. She makes the winery becomes famous.
Therefore as you can see she is a strong woman. There is one incident happened
which the Japanese soldiers torture and killed Jiu Er's friend Luo Han. Although
she is just a woman but she never been afraid of the Japanese soldiers. She
wants to make them pay for killing her friend so she asked for the help from her
workers and make a revenge on them by producesome gunpowder and grenade.
In this case, the characteristics of Jiu Er has and represent the traditional
Chinese woman and new woman's typical temperament. Besides, Zhang Yi
Mou mostly shows this kind of image of a woman in his films.
In addition, it also reflects the nationality moral integrity of Chinese people. For
example, although there are just few of them but they are not just waiting for
those Japanese soldiers to attack but they also revenge and resist those attacks.
They wanted to protectthemselves and the country as well from those Japanese
soldiers. All the workers hide up and wanted to blow their minds out with those
grenade. Unfortunately, Jiu Er been shootby those Japanese soldier and
following by the explosion that make the Japanese soldier died together with the
workers. In the other hand, those grenade are in fact nothing to those Japanese
soldier yet they still doing it. All of this is because they want to let them know
"who can be killed cannot be humiliated". After Jiu Er being killed, the sky
suddenly turned into red. Which means that life lost is a sacrifice notmade in
vain, justice will always be there. This situation can be finely defined as the
demonstration that we have nowadays. Whenever people not satisfied with the

4. politics they do demonstration. Sometimes it may be illegal but yet they still
doing it. That is just becausethey believe in justice.
Next, the most impact is the color of the film. Director Zhang Yi Mou has his
own opinion of choosing the color for his film. He mostly used red color in the
film, Red Sorghum. He used also few of the yellow color in it. He uses the red
color on many things for example the sedan which Jiu Er used on her way to her
husband, her shoes, flowers, shirts are all red in color. As you know red color
represents love, passion, desire, heat, lust, sexuality while yellow color
represents sunshine and hope. In this film, Zhang Yi Mou uses the red color to
represent the sexuality, strength, leadership. In this case, Chinese people seems
to be more red worship because red is the color of blood which flows in every
human being's body. The repeated emergence of red color is one way to express
and represent the enthusiasm and generous of the Chinese people which
affected the politics of China.