THE RED CORNER |
| CREDITS: Director: Jon Avnet Cast: Richard Gere, Bai Ling, Bradley Whitford, Byron
Mann & Peter Donat USA 1997 (15) INTRODUCTION: The latest tale of sex, violence and heavy handed ideological manipulation from Gere, not the sort of thing you expect from a close personal friend of the Dalai Llama. SYNOPSIS: American television executive Jack Moore (Gere) visits China in an attempt to sell them "Bay Watch", picks up a young Chinese girl, takes her back to his hotel room, and wakes up the following morning to find her dead and himself under arrest. REVIEW: Avnet takes the outmoded courtroom drama and adds a new twist to it, namely blatant racism. With Hollywood still congratulating themselves for the collapse of the USSR they have, it would seem, set their sights on a new target; the 'Yellow Peril' is once again fair game. From the subtle references of the kids in "Gummo" selling cat meat to the local Chinese restaurant to this blatant all out attack, not forgetting the more obvious assaults of "Kundun" and "Seven Years In Tibet" , all's fair in politics and entertainment has been Hollywood's motto ever since the HUA inquest. Gere is as reliable as ever in the lead and Ling makes a stunning western film debut. One can only wish her the best of luck especially as her performance doubtless means she will have trouble should she ever wish to return home. The rest of the cast is adequate, with a great number of Mandarin speaking Chinese cropping up in minor parts in a desperate attempt to add to the film's authenticity. The real murderer incidentally is the one who goes through the entire film with an 'I'm the real murderer' look on his face, perhaps Craven's technique of not revealing to the cast who the real murderer is until they film the final scene could have been applied to good effect here. The painstaking year of research that Avnet and crew undertook, and the surreptitious location shooting, sans Gere, who was refused an entry visa, do little to add to the film's realism, although watching this film in Birmingham's Chinese Quarter with a predominantly Oriental audience added a certain degree of surrealism to my viewing experience One particularly nauseating scene involves Gere escaping, lost and alone he spots the Stars and Stripes fluttering above the U.S. embassy. After this the film devolves even further into propaganda as the Chinese authorities start to see the error of their ways and come around to Gere's way of thinking. Ling's performance alone prevents the movie becoming jingoistic, American pap that it potentially was, and instead makes it moderately entertaining jingoistic American pap. Eminently missable. Mutt's Rating: ** |