"Ju Dou" was made before "Raise the red lantern" (1991), the breakthrough movie of Zhang Yimou in the Netherlands, but released in the aftermath of the success of the last mentioned movie. There are similarities between the two films, but also big differences.
The similarities are that in both films a young woman is "bought" by an old wealthy man. In both films tensions arises when a male baby does not come soon.
In "Raise the red lantern" the older and earlier women of the rich man are still there, and the emphasis is on the jealousy and sneaky bullying of the women among themselves. In "Ju Dou" the former women of the rich men are already dead. The emphasis is on the hatred of the woman against her old husband and her extramarital affair with an adopted nephew of her own age.
With respect to this extramarital affair the openness with which sexuality is portrayed is remarkable for a Chinese film. There are even glimpses of exhibitionism. First the woman discovers that the nephew is peeping on her while bathing. Shocked at first it doesn't take long before she puts up a show to get the nephew excited. Later, when the old man is paralysed and immobile, the woman and the nephew make love to each other in a way that is clearly audible (and deliberately so) for the old man.
The main difference between "Ju Dou" and "Raise the red lantern" is however the use of color. Mostly grey in "Raise the red lantern", because the emotions (jealousy and sneaky bullying) are mostly subcutaneous. A feast of bright colors (the film is situated in a wool dyeing factory) in "Ju Dou" because the emotions (both the hatred for the old man as the passion for the nephew) are all consuming.
The similarities are that in both films a young woman is "bought" by an old wealthy man. In both films tensions arises when a male baby does not come soon.
In "Raise the red lantern" the older and earlier women of the rich man are still there, and the emphasis is on the jealousy and sneaky bullying of the women among themselves. In "Ju Dou" the former women of the rich men are already dead. The emphasis is on the hatred of the woman against her old husband and her extramarital affair with an adopted nephew of her own age.
With respect to this extramarital affair the openness with which sexuality is portrayed is remarkable for a Chinese film. There are even glimpses of exhibitionism. First the woman discovers that the nephew is peeping on her while bathing. Shocked at first it doesn't take long before she puts up a show to get the nephew excited. Later, when the old man is paralysed and immobile, the woman and the nephew make love to each other in a way that is clearly audible (and deliberately so) for the old man.
The main difference between "Ju Dou" and "Raise the red lantern" is however the use of color. Mostly grey in "Raise the red lantern", because the emotions (jealousy and sneaky bullying) are mostly subcutaneous. A feast of bright colors (the film is situated in a wool dyeing factory) in "Ju Dou" because the emotions (both the hatred for the old man as the passion for the nephew) are all consuming.