Ju Dou (Chinese: 菊豆; pinyin: Jú Dòu) is a 1990 Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang (though it is almost universally considered to be a product of Zhang's vision as director) and starring Gong Li as the title character. It is notable for being shot in vivid Technicolor long after the process had been abandoned in the United States. It was also the first Mainland Chinese film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, in 1990.
The film is a tragedy, focusing on the characters of Ju Dou, a beautiful young woman who has been sold as a wife to Jinshan, an old cloth dyer.
The film was banned for a few years in China, but the ban has since been lifted.
Ju Dou takes place in the early 20th century in rural China. The story begins as Yang Tianqing (the regular Zhang collaborator Li Baotian) is returning from a trek to sell silk for his adoptive uncle, Yang Jinshan (Li Wei). Jinshan, whose trade is dyeing fabrics, is known for his cruelty and treats Tianqing with much scorn. Upon returning, Tianqing learns that Jinshan has just recently purchased a new wife, having beaten two previous wives to death after they failed to produce a son, the cruel
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