Red Sorghum

Red Sorghum (红高粱, 1988) is a Chinese historical drama directed by Zhang Yimou — stream it online on iFILM. A young woman named Jiu'er (Gong Li) is sold into marriage with the ailing owner of a rural sorghum distillery. The sedan-chair bearer who carries her there has other plans.

The two claim the distillery for themselves and keep the sorghum wine flowing — sharp, almost ceremonial stuff brewed in the fields behind the house. Their life together is rough-edged and physical. Then Japanese troops move in, cutting down the sorghum to build a road, and the red fields become the front line. Jiang Wen plays the unnamed lover.

Zhang Yimou's feature debut took the Golden Bear at the 1988 Berlin International Film Festival — the first Chinese film to win the top prize there. The deep red of the sorghum runs through every frame: the color of wine, of blood, of the earth itself. Watch Red Sorghum online on iFILM.