Nineteen-year-old Songlian, a promising student whose family has been destroyed by her father's death, is forced to abandon her studies and marry into wealth, becoming the fourth and newest concubine of the aging, unseen Master Chen. Inside his walled estate, she discovers a household ruled by a merciless ritual: each night, red lanterns are lit outside the chambers of whichever wife the master chooses to visit, granting that wife privilege and status while the others are cast into cold irrelevance. Songlian is drawn into the orbit of her rivals, each shaped by years of fighting for the same scraps of favor. Determined at first to rise above the games, Songlian is gradually worn down by isolation and humiliation until she begins playing to win, trading secrets and favors to secure her place in Master Chen’s hierarchy. As the petty cruelty turns even more dire, Songlian is forced to confront what survival has cost her and everyone trapped inside these rituals.

"Critic's Pick! A beautifully crafted and richly detailed feat of consciousness-raising and a serious drama with the verve of a good soap opera.... [A]s visually striking as it is dramatically effective." - Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"A Chinese film of voluptuous physical beauty and angry passions." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

"Gong Li delivers a performance of exquisite expressiveness that, like the film itself, is unnerving in its emotional nakedness." - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

"Breathtaking." - Desson Thomson, Washington Post

"With its beautiful look and haunting themes and sublime performances, Raise The Red Lantern is Yimou's master work." - Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film

“An emotionally immersive film that is brilliantly acted and visually breathtaking." - Sean Barry, Asian Movie Pulse

"Zhang’s film is a biting examination of sexual politics, mandarin-style. Also stunningly gorgeous to look at, this melodrama transcends all borders and eras to speak to the ages." - Marjorie Baumgarten, The Austin Chronicle