In conjunction with VMFA’s exhibition Forbidden City: Imperial Treasures from the Palace Museum, Beijing, VMFA celebrates Chinese cinema with this rare, English-subtitled version of Red Sorghum (1987). This film catapulted actress Gong Li to international stardom as well as launched the career of director Zhang Yimou who went on to make Hero (2002), House of Flying Daggers (2004), and the awe-inspiring 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony.
Screened at the Byrd Theatre, this sweeping, yet intensely personal, historical epic tells the story of a young woman who is sold into marriage with a rural winemaker. Her life changes when her husband dies and she takes over the business, a man from her past re-enters her life, and fights with her community against the invading army during World War II. Berlin Film Festival Golden Bear (Best Picture) award. For adults due to sexual situations and graphic violence.
Special thanks to Xi’an Film Studio and the China Film Archive.
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