Diagonaldi Very well executed

Bardlerx Strictly average movie

GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Leofwine_draca JU DOU is another early effort for Chinese director Zhang Yimou, and one that has much in common with his debut feature RED SORGHUM. Once again Gong Li stars, here playing an unhappily married woman whose mill owner husband abuses her horribly. She ends up having a kid with her husband's nephew, something that seals her fate. As with pretty much all of Yimou's work, this is beautifully shot throughout with some nicely artistic compositions, while the acting is understated and the plot elements subdued; Yimou goes for the naturalistic approach throughout. I found it slow-paced and lacking in engaging characters, only picking up for the effectively tragic climax.

sddavis63 A very well done story about the illicit relationship between a man and his "aunt" in 1920's China that results in disaster for all concerned. I've seen Gong Li in a couple of movies recently, and it's clear that she is both beautiful and talented. Here she plays the title character of Ju Dou, a young woman forced into marriage to Yang Jinshan, the brutal and sadistic owner of a dye mill, who beats and tortures her, and also wants her to bear him a son and heir. The mill is also home to Yang Tianqing, Jinshan's adopted nephew. Ju Dou and Tianqing fall in love with each other, and have a child, who is assumed to be Jinshan's. The result is tragedy all around eventually.The story is both unpleasant and yet interesting. Few of the characters (with the exception of Ju Dou) really connected with me. Ju Dou, on the other hand, becomes the object of sympathy right from the start. Her life is horrible, and even the relationship with Tianqing (a gentle and loving one for the most part) ultimately strikes me as unsatisfying, because frankly Tianqing is a wimp. The character (well portrayed by Li Baotian) comes across as childish and immature and afraid the whole way through. In a way, the most powerful (and frightening in many ways) character was the adolescent Tianbai, Ju Dou's son. He only appears in the last third of the movie or so, but he comes across as completely hateful toward both his mother and Tianqing and totally unemotional. It all leads up to a tragic (and yet appropriate) ending.One thing I really enjoyed in this movie was the depiction of the rituals around Jinshan's funeral procession. That was quite fascinating. Overall, this was an unpleasant movie with many unpleasant or at least unlikable characters, but still quite interesting. 7/10

lastliberal Gong Li is just about one of the most beautiful actresses in the world today. It is hard to believe that she has been acting for 20 years.This is one of her earlier works, and it is an excellent example of her talent. It is also one of the early films for Yimou Zhang, who also directed Gong Li in Curse of the Golden Flower. He shows the promise of a great director in this film.There is not much that is pleasant her. Ju Dou (Gong Li) is bought by an evil man who has beaten two wives to death for not bearing him a son. She is beaten mercilessly and he has constant sex with her to have a son.The problem is not his wives, but him, and she has a son secretly with his nephew (Baotian Li). It saves her life, but matters continue to get more and more complicated until the final tragedy.One of the really interesting features of the film is the Chinese funeral ritual.The film is a great example of the early work of two great talents, but do not think that early means weak, as they were bother strong from the beginning.

stpierre-1 Any Zhang Yimou movie is great, and this one is particularly good. It's not "Raise The Red Lantern," mind, but very good, and obviously a lot of the movie was done as a sort of precursor to Raise The Red Lantern, which also features the awesomely sexy Gong Li.The basic plot line involves a miserly old man, Jinshan, and his adopted nephew, Tianqing. Jinshan purchases a new wife, Ju Dou, played, of course, by Gong Li. It turns out he's a brutal sadist who makes up for his impotence by torturing his wives. Ju Dou turns to Tianqing, with whom she conceives a son. The movie is basically about Tianqing and Ju Dou trying to find happiness, in spite of a son who won't recognize Tianqing as his father (and later kills him), a society that won't let them marry or see each other, and a husband who, before he dies (also killed, accidentally, by the son), is just as cruel as ever, physically and psychologically. It's a very intriguing movie, with characters who, although complex, are driven by a very basic goal all of us share.It seems like some of the other reviewers didn't actually watch the movie, though; the son, Tianbai, is not evil. It's just that he feels strong loyalty to Jinshan, the husband of his mother and the man whose house he is carrying on. He fetches no plot to kill anyone, although he does.This is, all the way through, excellent Zhang Yimou and excellent Gong Li. A must-watch for anyone who's a fan of either.