Red Sorghum

Red sorghum is a war art film produced by Xi'an Film Studio, directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Jiang Wen, Gong Li and Teng rujun. It was released in China in 1987.

The film, adapted from Mo Yan's novel of the same name, is set in Gaomi, Shandong Province during the Anti Japanese war. It tells the story of the hero and the heroine running a sorghum distillery together after twists and turns. However, in the Japanese War of aggression, both the heroine and the bartender were maltreated and killed by the Japanese army for participating in the resistance movement.

In 1988, the film won the Golden Bear award at the 38th Berlin International Film Festival, becoming the first Asian film to win the award.

Synopsis

When jiuer was 19 years old, he had to marry Li Datou, who was in his fifties and opened a liquor shop in shibalipo. According to the rural regulations, the bride has to be tossed about by the way of bumping the sedan chair, but no matter how the sedan chair driver tosses about, Jiu Er never says a word. When jiu'er arrived at the eighteen mile slope, he fell in love with Yu Zhanao. Soon, Li died, and the clerks didn't want to work any more. Jiu'er persuaded the clerks and set up a liquor making workshop. The bandit tousanpao robbed jiuer, and uncle Luohan and his friends raised money to redeem jiuer. But Yu Zhanao was very angry when he saw that jiu'er's hair was messy. He ran to Tu sanpao and put the vegetable knife on his neck. Yu Zhanao didn't give up until Tu sanpao assured jiu'er that he didn't move with his head. Yu Zhanao urinated in the newly brewed sorghum wine. Unexpectedly, the taste of sorghum wine was particularly good. Jiu'er named it shibalihong. When jiuer's son was nine years old, the Japanese came to qingshakou, burning, killing and looting. Jiuer moves out the eighteen mile red wine made by Uncle Luohan, who was killed by the Japanese devils, and gives it to the guys to drink. Everyone goes to fight against the devils with high morale. Jiu'er rewards Yu Zhanao with a good meal, but he is killed by the machine gun on the Devils' military vehicle. Angry Yu Zhanao and others rushed to the Japanese military vehicle with tins and earth mines. After the dust, Yu Zhanao takes his son's hand and struggles to get to jiu'er's body. During the eclipse, jiuer's son sang a nursery rhyme: "mother, go to the southwest, wide road, long treasure boat.".