Singular as both an artwork and a cultural phenomenon, Ju Dou was the first Chinese film to be nominated for an Academy Award and immediately elevated international recognition of Chinese cinema, not to mention the stardom of Li Gong. Set in an early 20th century dye mill, the film is lush and operatic in its Technicolor-saturated depiction of a deadly triangle formed by a sadistic and impotent patriarch, the interloping adoptive nephew and Ju Dou the beautiful, indentured bride. Within Ju Dou’s fiery sensuality and brutal tragedy resides moments of noir, horror, fairy tale and a rich, layered commentary on centuries of intergenerational violence. – Connor Kim ‘27 and Brittany Gravely