 |
|
| View Mode |
| Regular | Headlines |
|
| All times are
PT (Pacific Time), U.S.A.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Ballet Review: Raise the Red Lantern |
| Posted By: Cary Wong on December 4, 2005 - 10:00 PM |
Ballet Review: Raise the Red Lantern
By Cary Wong
For those of you who have enjoyed
reading articles in Film Score Monthly magazine, click here
to sign up and experience even more of them in FSM Online!
Raise the Red Lantern ***
CHEN QIGANG
National Ballet of China at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
October 12, 2005
There are certain images in Zhang Yimou's ballet adaptation of his 1991
masterpiece film Raise the Red
Lantern that should remind fans of his cinematic achievements.
There's the striking visual of the color-coordinated costumes to
delineate groups like in Hero,
as well as a beautiful finale with a stage filled with snow that should
delight the fans of his House of
Flying Daggers. Unfortunately, the movie this stage adaptation
most doesn't remind one of is
Raise the Red Lantern.
Both the movie and the ballet are based on the novella by Su Tong, and
since I haven't read the source material, I am not sure which version
is more faithful. Psychologically speaking, the two could not be more
different. Both feature an unwilling woman who becomes a concubine for
a rich landowner. She finds her spot in the pecking order to be both
favored (newest member) and powerless (newest member). The husband
makes his choice of wife each night by raising the red lanterns of that
house up in a wildly theatrical (and in the case of the unchosen wives,
demoralizing) way. In both cases, there are betrayals of one wife
towards another, resulting in a death. But even with these similar plot
points, the ballet and the movie could not be more different.
The movie was subtle, blazing with envy among the desperate Chinese
housewives. It more or less focused on Gong Li as the fourth wife and
her manipulation of the other women. There was also a back story
involving Gong Li's servant girl and much more focus on the red
lanterns (along with foot massages) as a symbol of status. All of this
is missing in the ballet presented by the National Ballet of China,
which finished a successful U.S. tour at BAM in October. The story
hasn't been simplified, but also radically changed. The main character
is now the third wife (or second concubine -- depending which way
you're keeping score) and she was taken as a wife for this master
against her will, mainly because she's in love with a young opera
singer. Once at the master's estate, she is rudely welcomed by the
other wives and on her first night is basically raped by the Master
(who strokes his beard like a silent movie villain). She accidentally
runs into the Opera singer during an evening out, and they re-declare
their love to each other. Unbeknownst to them, the second wife
witnesses this and reports the infidelity to the master. The lovers are
sentenced to death along with the second wife (no good deed, I suppose,
goes unpunished), but not before the three bond over their fate and the
power of love.
There is nothing wrong with the simplified plot of the ballet's version
of the story. It's just that the stories are so dissimilar that it is
almost false advertising to call it Raise
the Red Lantern. The new story works better as a ballet, but by
oversimplifying the story to such bare plot points, the uninspired
dancing by choreographers Wang Xinpeng and Wang Yuanyun take center
stage too often. While beautiful in parts, the dancing is almost
perfunctory to director Zhang's visions, and that shouldn't happen in a
ballet. Opera or theater may be the domain of visionary directors, but
the dancing is always the main point of ballet. When the focus goes
horribly askew as it does here, a long stretch of dancing seems like an
eternity.
However, still present are the director's images, and they are
spectacular. As mentioned, the finale with the snow is plain
breathtaking, and should wow an audience and leave them clamoring for
more as the curtain falls. There are also vivid images involving
shadows and silk screens, a beautiful lantern dance that opens the
piece, a wonderful set piece that represents a mah-jongg den, and the
powerful, theatrical imagery of torture that will not leave anyone
unmoved. These images were so overwhelming that it would probably
overshadow the delicacy of the movie story, but it certainly livens the
ballet. And since Zhang has moved into a more expressionistic period of
filmmaking, it's only natural that his foray into ballet directing
(which premiered in China in 2001) would reflect this sensibility.
The cast I saw was more or less the C cast, and no one except for an
occasional burst of energy from Jin Jia as the second wife made any
lasting character impression. The pre-recorded music by Chen Qigang is
more accessible than the haunting, dissonant Chinese opera stylings of
film composer Jiping Zhao. A couple of themes were discernible, but not
memorable. The physical production was flawless, with brilliant colors
punctuating the stage at opportune moments. And the draining of color
in the last scene sets up the wonderful climax.
There has been talk of the company having a second tour around the
country. Considering its large company and overal inventiveness, it
would be a shame to miss. Just don't expect the haunting and crushing
blows of the film. The ballet is exciting in many ways, but the film
still remains the apex of the Chinese cinema renaissance.
MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Today in Film Score History:
April 19 |
|
| Alan Price born (1942) |
|
| Alfred Newman begins recording his score for David and Bathsheba (1951) |
|
| Dag Wiren died (1986) |
|
| David Fanshawe born (1942) |
|
| Dudley Moore born (1935) |
|
| Harry Sukman begins recording his score for A Thunder of Drums (1961) |
|
| Henry Mancini begins recording his score for The Great Race (1965) |
|
| Joe Greene born (1915) |
|
| John Addison begins recording his score for Swashbuckler (1976) |
|
| John Williams begins recording his score for Fitzwilly (1967) |
|
| Jonathan Tunick born (1938) |
|
| Lord Berners died (1950) |
|
| Michael Small begins recording his score to Klute (1971) |
|
| Paul Baillargeon records his score for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “When It Rains…” (1999) |
|
| Ragnar Bjerkreim born (1958) |
|
| Ron Jones records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "We'll Always Have Paris" (1988) |
|
| Sol Kaplan born (1919) |
|
| Thomas Wander born (1973) |
|
| William Axt born (1888) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
