Overview
A tale of love and resilience blooms amidst the harsh realities of war-torn China.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- passionate
- lush
- defiant
- arthouse film night
- world cinema discovery
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a powerful, visually sumptuous historical romance that established Zhang Yimou as a major international director.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The red sorghum fields and winery imagery dominate the film's expressive visual language.
Jiu'er and Yu's relationship develops as Japanese occupation and wartime brutality reshape their rural community.
After the winery owner's death, Jiu'er inherits the isolated distillery and assumes responsibility for its survival.
Zhang Yimou's film is a landmark of 1980s Chinese Fifth Generation filmmaking, pairing rural mythic imagery with wartime history.
Films like Red Sorghum, and why
The Last Emperor
lush historical romance, rural setting, and epic visual treatment of political violence
Raise the Red Lantern
poetic historical drama centered on female endurance amid social upheaval and war
Atonement
passionate wartime romance with heightened imagery and tragic stakes
Movie Details
- Director
- Zhang Yimou
- Release Date
- 1988-10-10
- Runtime
- 91 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (256)
Cast
- Gong Li
- Jiang Wen
- Teng Rujun
- Liu Ji
- Qian Ming
- Ji Chunhua
- Zhai Chunhua
- Jia Zhaoji
- Zhang Yuxiang
- Zhou Guiyun
Common questions
- What is Red Sorghum about?
- A young woman builds an unruly life around a rural Chinese winery as forbidden love and wartime occupation transform the red sorghum fields around her.
- What is Red Sorghum like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Red Sorghum as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Red Sorghum violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Red Sorghum as brutal.
- What did critics think of Red Sorghum?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a powerful, visually sumptuous historical romance that established Zhang Yimou as a major international director.
- Which films are like Red Sorghum?
- Films with a similar feel include The Last Emperor, Raise the Red Lantern, and Atonement.
- How long is Red Sorghum?
- Red Sorghum runs 91 minutes.
