A portrait of lives constrained: Zhang Yimou's 'Ju Dou'

The first three films directed by Zhang Yimou form a trilogy linked by their early twentieth century, pre-Communist settings, themes around social constraint versus personal desire, lavish visual style, and the presence of his muse Gong Li. (1) Situated in between Red Sorghum (1987) and Raise the Red Lantern (1991), Ju Dou’s striking mise en scene, melodramatic narrative and allegorical meanings garnered Zhang auteur status internationally. Together with the early work of Chen Kaige, the trilogy became the cornerstone for the opening up of Chinese cinema to the rest of the world, and positioned Zhang in a complex (and later shifting) relationship with his own country, celebrated abroad while his work was suppressed by the authorities at home.