Hit Me With Your Best Shot: Raise the Red Lantern

Favorite Shot: Only the head mistress,
who figures in so infrequently, 
can provide comic relief

Filmed exclusively on the former dynastic residence Qiao's Compound, director Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of the Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower, The Flowers of War) effortlessly captures the detailed, yet simple luxurious backdrop to the story of the four mistresses serving a polygamous marriage in 1992's Raise the Red Lantern. Nineteen-year-old Songlian arrives as a former student whose family has lost all its money, which leaves her with no other options but to become a concubine to a wealthy man during the Warlord Era big Chinese love style.  With little to do but jockey for power by competing for their husband's affections (the title refers to which woman has the honor of hosting the husband each evening), her inability to cope with such a life leads to tragic consequences for everyone around her.  The film is visually stunning to watch as the story visits various customs turned on their heads as Songlian becomes unhinged.  Gong Li holds the screen as the central character in one of her many collaborations with Yimou.

Second favorite shot: the coloring here is just plain sick

Gong Li listens for minutes while learning of her fate

Fourth mistress doesn't take long to harden her shell

Third mistress throwing shade

Deep focus detail 

Foreshadowing

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer

Gorgeous panoramic pan

Adeptly capturing the space between homes

Previous HMWYBS:

Raise the Red Lantern

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The Circus