Appreciation of the movie "The Red Lantern Hangs High"

The movie "High Red Lanterns" is directed by Zhang Yimou in 1991. The film is adapted from Su Tong's novella "Wives and Concubines". It inherits and develops the theme and style of the original work, and runs through Zhang Yimou's unique visual effects. And the profound historical and cultural background, it reflects the mutual calculation and secret struggle within the "polygamous" feudal family and the corresponding survival principles. The heroine Song Lian is the core character of the work. She was originally educated. In such a terrifying and intriguing living environment as the mansion, in order to have a place, his personality is gradually distorted and deformed. In the end, the culprit that caused Song Lian and the other wives, and even the maid Yan'er to change, was the old rules of the Chen family. This is a group of women bound by rules, and this is also a group of women sacrificed under the feudal social system. The whole film was shot in a very single environment, that is, a large house of the Chen family. But the singleness of the shooting environment did not bury the film's delicate emotions and the thoughts it wants to express.
(1) Color and composition
The four colors of red, black, white and blue are used alternately in this film. Big red, originally considered the most festive color in China, has become a kind of restraint and a kind of oppression here. Black, the deepest and safest color, is shrouded in a layer of dark feudal forces. White, such a pure and transparent color, has staged the scorching state of the world, and has become the stage of death, so desolate. Blue symbolizes the ferocity and darkness of feudal society. The big red lanterns are always surrounded and enclosed by dark blue brick and tile walls, which also reveals the theme of the work. Oppressed women ultimately cannot escape a tragic fate. In terms of composition, the closed composition of the eaves connected by the large overhead camera position, the application of long shots and fixed scenes, subjective shots, the alternate use of close-up and long-range shots, and exaggerated contrast methods all make this film cast a layer. Feeling about to suffocate.
(2) Sound and music
The film uses a symphonic suite. The basic material of the music is taken from the "circular circle" processed by the introduction of Peking Opera Xipi Liushui. It is an alternative and unconventional combination of five-movement female vocal chorus without lyrics, orchestra, and Peking Opera percussion. , music in the ideological and artistic aspects beyond the film, reaching a new realm. The opening chapter starts with a drama, creating a strong historical atmosphere, and the dense drum beats first bring the audience into the rhythm of the film. In addition, as one of the old rules in this film, the sound of "hammer feet" was also indirectly used by the director as the soundtrack of the film. The sound of hammer feet resounded inside and outside the Chen family's house. Let's listen, express a feeling of unbearable desire if you can't be hammered to the feet after being in this yard for a long time. On the one hand, let the audience listen. While listening to the sound of hammering feet, observe the inner activities and thoughts of each wife, and bring the audience to the scene. Get into the mood created by the director. At the beginning, the music for welcoming the bride, the sound of hammer feet lingering in the entire compound, and Mei Shan's several ethereal arias, were full of sadness and desolation, indicating an inevitable tragedy. The film finally ushered in the next summer, the third wife has been forced to death, the fourth wife Songlian has also gone crazy, the fifth wife will usher in this fate again, the lantern will be hung up again, this situation will be staged again , The film ended with the humming of the girls, the deep accompaniment of cello and the cheerful sound of gongs and drums, which more profoundly showed the tragic fate of the characters. The red light hangs high, the fate is set, they are just a show in the eyes of others, and the song ends.
(3) Shooting method
The most used symbolism in the whole film is that there is no spring season in the whole film. The director may want to tell us that these women have no spring, they will always live in Xiao Sha's season. There is no sunshine, only looking forward to the red light, and there will never be a day to come out. It foreshadows from the beginning that this is a story that will end in tragedy. All the scenes were shot in that big mansion. It is like a big cage. Every wife and Yan'er can only express their emotions here, and the director's intention is these Women will never be able to escape this cage, and will never be able to escape this cruel system of feudal society. The third aunt went out too, but she did not shoot the scene outside the hospital, and her ending was to be tied back, and some women who escaped from this cage had only a tragic end. This is what the director intends. The fourth wife wandering on the roof longed to be close to the sky, which is also a symbol of freedom, but she went mad on the roof, because the house of the dead was also on the roof, and the place closest to the sky was also the closest to heaven. The place is the closest to a tragic end. Freedom, for everyone in this big mansion, is just a luxury, they cannot have it, because freedom is a "stumbling block" in their lives. For these victims of feudal ethics, death may be the only way out of here, and the ultimate redemption. "What are people in this courtyard? They are like cats, dogs, mice, but they are not like people." The new wife still came, day after day, year after year. Sad ending.
The ending of the film is very shocking and thought-provoking. Isn't the ancient courtyard in the night just like a cage under the reflection of red lanterns? The crazy Song Lian is constantly wandering in this cage, the camera keeps moving backwards, Song Lian is getting smaller and smaller, and there is not only this cage, but also this trapped person. It is worth noting that the master does not show himself in the whole film. The director may arrange this to show the majesty of the king, the strict hierarchy, the exploitation and oppression come from the invisible and not a certain person, in front of it you can't lift it When you start, you don't even dare to make a formal face, this is the loss of freedom, a tragedy that people do not become people.
After watching the film, we are still sighing and struggling for the fate of the characters in the play. We are overwhelmed by "hanging lanterns", "beating feet", "eating" and the gloomy Chen family high house. We are also passed on to us in the film. A deep reflection is carried out in the criticism of...

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