Ju Dou

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Ju Dou

PG-13,

1990,

1h 38m,

Drama

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Watchlist

100%

23 Reviews

Tomatometer

89%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

23 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Ju Dou (Gong Li), the young bride of Yang Jin-shan (Wei Li), who is the tyrannical owner of a silk-dyeing business, is forced to endure her husband's violent tendencies and condescending nature. Although Ju Dou finds temporary solace in the arms of her husband's nephew, Tian-qing (Baotian Li), problems arise when Ju Dou gets pregnant. The couple then desperately tries to hide their passionate romance while convincing the merciless Jin-shan that the child is his.

Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

Sep 30, 2025

The story is primal, and so are Zhang’s cinema strategies.

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Peter Rainer

Los Angeles Times

Sep 30, 2025

Ju Dou isn’t as luridly explosive as “Red Sorghum,” the previous Zhang Yimou-Yang Fengliang movie released in this country; it’s not as mad as that film. But, in its own dampened fashion, “Ju Dou” is true to its own depravity.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

May 24, 2022

3/4

Visually stunning, with ravishing uses of color and beautifully modulated lap dissolves...

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Terry Sherwood

Film Threat

Feb 18, 2026

9/10

Ju Dou transforms erotic melodrama into political tragedy, using colour, sex, and cruelty to expose how authoritarian systems reproduce themselves through fear and bloodlines.

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Sankeerthna Vedamtam

MovieJawn

Oct 6, 2025

In the end, Ju Dou (both character and film) understands that it’s the oppressive system – symbolized by this house and its workings – that destroyed them all.

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Gregory Nussen

Screen Rant

Oct 1, 2025

7/10

Known mostly for his Wuxia, Zhang's early-career film is an exercise in dramatic irony.

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Finn R

Feb 10, 2017

Ju Dou is a romantic drama that feels like a Shakespearean play. The twists and turns of this story are fascinating and I loved how it messed with me emotionally. It had you rooting for certain people, but then there's a turn where suddenly you start to question if they've gone too far, but later it brings you back onto their side. The visuals are stunning, particularly the vibrant colors of all the fabric in the film. It looks beautiful despite the horrible quality of the DVD transfer that is currently available in the US. I thought the movie was a bit slow at the beginning and took quite some time before it got going, but once the relationships were all established it became much more interesting. I also think there are moments in the film where it indulges a little too heartily in melodrama. The plot certainly warrants some strong reactions from the characters, but it isn't played all that well by the actors. However, the rest of the performances were solid, and I felt like the personalities of the characters were all well-defined. I didn't love Ju Dou, because it is a lot of heavy drama without much levity, but I think it is a good movie that I would gladly watch again or recommend to others.

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Yimou Zhang

Director

Gong Li

Ju Dou

Baotian Li

Yang Tian-qing

Wei Li

Yang Jin-shan

Zhang Yi

Tianbai as child

Zhen Ji-an

Yang Tian-bai as a Youth

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Synopsis

Ju Dou (Gong Li), the young bride of Yang Jin-shan (Wei Li), who is the tyrannical owner of a silk-dyeing business, is forced to endure her husband's violent tendencies and condescending nature. Although Ju Dou finds temporary solace in the arms of her husband's nephew, Tian-qing (Baotian Li), problems arise when Ju Dou gets pregnant. The couple then desperately tries to hide their passionate romance while convincing the merciless Jin-shan that the child is his.

Director: Yimou Zhang
Producer: Zhang Wen-ze, Yasuyoshi Tokuma, Hu Jian
Distributor: Miramax Films
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 6, 1990, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Oct 3, 2025
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 3, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $10.3K
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: Surround

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