Symbolism Of 'Red In The Film Red Sorghum'

Red Sorghum

For most people who have watched the film, Red Sorghum, the strongest impression that appears in their mind must be the color red. This is not only because of the red sedan chair, the red sorghum wine, and the red blood but also the thick atmosphere that the red hue creates. In this movie, color plays a pivotal role in leading audience’s emotion because the red color has different meanings under different plots; it evokes happiness in the marriage, passion in people's lives, and national spirit in the wartime. More importantly, there’s contradiction and repetition in the movie. The same scene with different hues connects the plots from beginning and end perfectly, and it portrays characters’ thoughts effectively.

In the movie, there are two scenes in which the workers sing the wild song. At 49:00, the Luohan brother leads the workers to toast the wine god and celebrate for their new wine. The second time is at 1:14:50 when he was killed by the Japanese. Zhanao Yu takes his position and leads the song. They worship Luohan brother, and they also show the determination to avenge him.

In the first scene, the picture is really clear. The light red hue and bright light make all the contour of the workers’ faces complete and obvious. They express the enjoyable feeling by nodding their heads with the rhyme and singing loudly with exaggeratedly open mouths. The song is expansive, loud, and full of passion. It emphasizes the jubilance of producing new wine and the workers’ vitality. The camera truck movement gives a close-up view of each character. Their unique facial expressions make the characters live with the enthusiasm of the northwest. For example, the muscles of Luohan brother’s neck stand out, workers raise their eyebrows, and their big smiles make their eyes barely