Raise+the+Red+Lantern

Raise the Red Lantern is a story about Songlian, a college dropout, who is swept up in a world of drama after becoming the newest concubine to a wealthy man. At first, Songlian is haughty and determined to distance herself from the other concubines because she believes that the circumstances that caused her to become a concubine were out of her control. Since she believes that, she is resolute in her decision to have as much authority that her new life can afford her by making her own decisions, not going out of her own way to please the master, and refusing to interact with the other concubines and the main wife. However, what she fails to realize is that what she truly needs is affirmation that she can still be herself (despite being stripped of almost everything that contributes to her identity) and that there is still more to life outside of the courtyard walls. The lighting, sound, mise-en-scene, editing, and cinematography all contribute to creating a tense tone for the movie and expressing its themes of the effects of repression and secrecy, the meaning of identity, and whether to accept one’s fate.

 The lighting is hugely influenced by the director’s use of intense, often over-saturated colors. The colors are not only used to please aesthetically, but also serve as symbols throughout the film. The color “red” has numerous meanings throughout the movie, with its most significant meaning being “power”. There is a huge power struggle between the wives as they deliberately make decisions to beat the other concubines, with the reward being the red lanterns. The scenes are also often tinged either red or blue, and contribute to the tone of the film. When the scenes have a red tinge, emotions such as lust or anger are heightened. When the scenes have a blue tinge, there is a more cold and melancholy feel to the atmosphere. Colors are also used to separate the concubines from each other, with each concubine having a color theme within their room and clothing. For example, the Second Wife is represented by yellow to make herself appear innocent and joyful, while the Third Wife is represented by the color red to emphasize how much she wants the master’s affection and how lively of a person she’s forcing to trap inside. Songlian wavers between a variety of colors, as she switches different color themes when testing which of the concubines seem to be most successful at winning the master’s attention. When all of this doesn’t matter to her anymore, she is often shown in black, which represents her “color” as well as her resigned acceptance of her fate. The color and lighting of the film emphasize the often startling tone and themes of the film.

Much of the tone of the movie is set by the addition of not only the traditional music score, but the diegetic sounds within the movie as well. When Songlian first enters the property, every sound is sharp and crisp, as though she is hyperaware of her new surroundings and the audience is experiencing her sensitivity. The sounds also aurally represent the emotions of the concubines as they succeed and fail in their battle to please a man that none of them truly care for. When the lanterns are about to be lit to indicate who the master has chosen to spend the night with, clanging, almost frantic, percussions embody the concubines’ anticipation and desire to be chosen. The rhythmic rattling sound made by the foot massage are soothing for the chosen concubine, but are also hammering reminders to the other concubines of their failure. The constant rhythm of the percussions increases the tension daily between the concubines. The sound shows how psychologically affected the women are by the choices made by the master as their true emotions are revealed.

The editing of the movie allows the movie to flow naturally, despite covering numerous events within a long period of time. The story is separated into parts with the editor using a screen with text to transition from one season to another. Many of the scenes are also intercut with shots of the scene from a distance, as though someone is watching the scene that is occurring. As a result, the scene has more coverage as the editor shows the same scene from different angles. This can also be considered representative of how each woman has her individual perspective of the same event. It emphasizes that there are little secrets the women can have that won’t be exposed sometime in the future. The editing is mostly used to allow the audience to have a better understanding of the film.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All of the aspects of mise-en-scene in Raise the Red Lantern contribute greatly to the establishing the theme and tone of the movie. Having the movie set and completely taking place within the walls of the master’s property allows us to see that for the women, nothing that happens outside of those walls should be important to them anymore. However, we can see that the women try to fight against this idea by how Songlian constantly goes to the rooftops to see the world outside and how the Third Wife secretly leaves the property to continue her illicit affair with the doctor. Nothing is shown as happening outside of the walls, which successfully prevents the women from escaping their fates as concubines. The architecture of the property is also very structured and represents how the women are subject to live their lives according to numerous rules and guidelines. For example, despite the concubines all living separately in different courtyards, their courtyards look exactly the same, signifying how the women are now all equals in vying for the master’s affection. The framing of the actors and objects within the scene also contribute to the themes of the movie. The different objects that each woman has in her room help to present the identities of the women, who believe that they are all unique in their own rights but are actually slowly becoming alike in their cruel intentions. <range type="comment" id="425041276_3">The blocking of the actors in the shots are also important. </range id="425041276_3">There are many shots where the actor is in the dead middle of the screen, drawing the attention of the audience to her. This allows there to be a greater focus on the importance and meaning of the events happening within the scene. Whenever Songlian is in the middle of the screen, she has either come to a new realization in her life or something dramatic has just happened to her. Another important scene where the character is positioned in the middle of the shot is when Songlian reveals Yan’er’s forbidden use of red lanterns and Yan’er is forced to kneel in the snow and watch the lanterns burn. As the lanterns burn, we see that Yan’er’s dreams and will to live are being destroyed along with them. The sides of the shot, which are basically mirror reflections of each other, show that everything else is still the same despite the world-shattering event that has just happened to Yan’er. Framing is also used the show how trapped the characters are. The women are often positioned so that some sort of a “box” traps them, such as when Songlian is seen behind a decorated gate. The numerous aspects of mise-en-scene all emphasize how structured the lives of the women are, and how the repression of their lives suffocates them and influences their every thought and action.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The cinematography of Raise the Red Lantern is carefully and formally done. There is a wide range of shots, the most notable of them being high angles as well as close-ups. There are numerous high angles of the courtyard, and we see the environment of the concubines from a bird’s eye angle. The camera is looking down at the unfolding events, and makes it seem as though someone is monitoring the concubines at all time and preventing them from obtaining freedom. This is representative of the rules the women must live by and the disturbances that interrupt their freedom. Close-ups are also important in attempting to expose the women for who they really are, despite the shield of lies that the women have built up to defend themselves from being caught off-guard. The close-ups are chances to see the true emotions of the women as they are forced to bury their own opinions for the sake of the master. Some of the close-ups are almost erotic in showing the emotions of the women, such as the close-ups on Songlian as she is reveling not only in the pleasure of the foot massage, but also the pleasure of beating the other concubines. Although the camera movement is mostly smooth and languid when displaying Songlian’s world, there is one interruption to this tranquility when Songlian sees that the Third Wife has been hanged in the locked room. The camera is shaky as the audience is forced to see from Songlian’s panicky POV. This choice is notable because despite the shakiness of the camera, this is when everything actually becomes clear to Songlian as she realizes her fate in her new life. <range type="comment" id="425041276_5">Through the cinematographic choices, Songlian and the other women are thoroughly examined and their fates as concubines are established. </range id="425041276_5">

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The variety of techniques used within Raise the Red Lantern all have different purposes in setting the tone of the film as well as delivering the themes of the film. The tense tone of the movie is created through the dramatic lighting and the intense and sharp diegetic sounds. The amount of repression and secrecy the women have in their lives and its consequences are depicted through the different cinematic choices. The fact that the women are constantly being watched is shown through the cinematography, and their reactions to the suffocation and secrecy within their lives is revealed through the use of color. Songlian and the other concubines’ search for their identity and their perspectives on whether to accept their fate are all highlighted as well. Mise-en-scene is important in connecting all the themes together. The combination of lighting, sound, mise-en-scene, editing, and cinematography are all crucial in creating tone and expressing the themes of Raise the Red Lantern.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">P.S. –<range type="comment" id="425041276_4"> Now I totally understand what you meant by having a lot to talk about for Zhang Yi Mou!</range id="425041276_4">