`Wooden Man's Bride' showcases Chinese landscape
Obviously, this ritual carries no authentic guarantee, so the Western eye may perceive it as curiously unnecessary upon beholding it in one of the movie's scenes. Still, and this is what the movie is all about, people get caught up in their own versions of reality, with undeniably real and cruel results.
The plot contains many such eye-widening developments. Basically, an attractive but poor young lady finds herself in the endlessly frustrating situation of marriage to a wooden man -- literally. Though the bride, referred to as "Young Mistress" throughout the movie, easily finds a temporary solution, the ultimate, slightly bizarre solution is harder to come by and more than I asked for.
The film takes a while to explain why the marriage happens in the first place (besides the mother-in-law's sadistic insanity). Brevity cannot be counted among director Huang Jianxin's otherwise diverse virtues. He makes up for such faults, though. Some sequences can only be described as epic, and this director knows, with the help of salient subject matter, how to mess emotionally with the audience.
The scene in which the bride gets married to her more-than-impotent husband is scary . Festive red, the color which dominates Chinese weddings, is entirely erased and replaced by white, the ghastly color of funerals. Life takes vows to Death, as Death invades Life's ceremony. I have not been this spooked since I saw Seven .
Tragedy needs its comedy, and Huang knows very well how to lace his horror with some humor. Kui, the most important (animate) male character, is boorishly but endearingly silly, and "Young Mistress" has a few good lines herself. Just watch for laughs or smiles at the most unexpected moments.
Otherwise acclaimed director Zhang Yi-mou of Raise the Red Lantern and Ju Dou has been criticized for filming China with a hint of outdated Third World tourism, widening the gap in which rural China lags behind. (In addition, the audience receives an unasked-for task: Do we ascribe the funkiness to the culture or to the point the director is trying to make? My answer: I don't know, sit back and enjoy the movie). Wooden Man's Bride is equally guilty of the same crime. The setting remains the Chinese countryside; the occupation portrayed, tofumaker. Part of the touristy packet, however, is the requisite picturesque cinematography.This movie is often, whether in the deserts or in the village, a beautiful sight to see.At the Rice Media Center this weekend.
This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the October 6, 1995 issue.
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