Red Corner (1997)

reviewed by
David Sunga


Review: Red Corner (1997)
Rating: 2.5 stars  (out of 4.0)
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Key to rating system:
2.0  stars         Debatable
2.5 stars        Some people may like it
3.0 stars        I liked it
3.5 stars        I am biased in favor of the movie
4.0  stars        I felt the movie's impact personally or it stood out
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A Movie Review by David Sunga
Directed by:
Jon Avnet
Written by:
Robert King

Starring: Richard Gere, Bai Ling, Byron Mann, Jessey Meng

Ingredients: Beijing court, innocent Caucasian man, loyal female attorney

Synopsis: Caucasian Jack Moore (Richard Gere) is at the People's Republic of China to close a business deal with a high ranking Chinese partner involving allowing American TV into the PRC; Jack is just about to close the deal. That night he meets hot babe Hong Ling (Jessey Meng) and they go back to his hotel room to get lucky. He is suddenly awakened by the police the next morning, apparently framed for the murder of the beautiful woman.

With the exception of one escape attempt, the rest of the movie is mostly spent in the courtroom, listening to translated Chinese, where clues and surprise witnesses come up. Moore is aided by a female attorney (Bai Ling) who initially doesn't believe Moore but becomes his loyal ally. Sometimes Moore reads off quotes from a Chinese law book. Will their teamwork be enough to enable Moore to escape the messed up criminal justice system?

Opinion: Red Corner doesn't contain much in the way of plot or suspense: a jailed man waits a long time as a lot of evidence is presented. This movie is basically a character sketch of the corrupt justice system Moore must suffer - - he gets about the same kind of justice you might expect from a corrupt banana republic. But the ending is happy.

Says Director Jon Avnet, quoted on MGM/UA's ‘Red Corner' Web Site: "When I was in Beijing for a research trip and tried to take a still photograph of the Beijing Intermediate Courthouse, I was accosted by two soldiers with automatic weapons and persuaded not to continue my photography."

"We shot Bai Ling riding a bicycle in Tiananmen Square at considerable risk to her."

"There were people we met in Beijing who cared enough that we tell this story accurately, that they were willing to risk retribution to give us this information."

Historical Background of China and the Movies: Coincidentally or not, ‘Red Corner' opens as the real life presidential summit between Chinese President Jiang and American President Bill Clinton takes place in America. China is predicted by many to become the world's largest economy next century, and this week's presidential summit represents a warming of Sino-US ties.

The People's Republic of China contains approximately one fifth of all the humans in the world. It became communist in 1949, after a civil war. Meanwhile the defeated non-communist Chinese left the mainland and exiled themselves to Taiwan to form their own government. Communist China is now called the PRC (People's republic of China) while the island of Taiwan prefers to call itself ROC (The Republic of China on Taiwan) because it is controlled by its own separate government. The Eisenhower administration in 1954 signed the U.S.-ROC Mutual Defense Treaty which commits the US to protect Taiwan, ROC from communist aggression.

Meanwhile, at China's western border China's military invasion of Tibet occurred in 1950 resulting in the 1951 annexation of Tibet to China. A Tibetan uprising in 1959 resulted in the Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama fleeing to exile to India.

The relationship between the US and China began to thaw when President Richard Nixon visited China in 1972. US and China signed the Shanghai Communique, in which the U.S. drops political support for Taiwan and "acknowledges that … there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China." In 1978 Chinese leader Deng paved the way for capitalism to exist in communist China; he placed profit incentives and economic progress above traditional Maoist goals, visiting America in 1979. Soon business put China back on the map; Mr. Deng's policies resulted in today's high economic growth rate.

China's relationship with the States soured after the July 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square incident. Then in 1995 President Clinton's decision to grant a visa to Taiwan President Lee enraged leaders of the PRC. This was followed by the 1996 Taiwan Missile Crisis, where China held war exercises and lobbed missiles around the waters surrounding Taiwan about the same time as Taiwan's first democratic presidential elections - - and the US responded by sending two aircraft carriers to the region. This occurred against the backdrop of increasing trade relations between the US and China.

This week's presidential summit between Jiang and Clinton represents an upswing in Sino-US ties and further travel up the long road to better communication.

A Warming Trend: In terms of 1997 film, look for an increasing trend of China related film this year and next year. ‘Red Corner' actress Bai Ling, is a star in her native China, and ‘Red Corner' is her first starring role in an American motion picture. Taiwanese director Ang Lee (‘The Ice Storm') and Hong Kong director John Woo (‘Face/Off') are notable examples of Chinese directors active in mainstream Hollywood cinema, but their movies this year do not deal with China themes. However, movies by other directors do: for example, two movies on Tibet (‘Seven Years in Tibet,' and ‘Kundun') and one James Bond movie with a Chinese female partner (‘Tomorrow Never Dies,' North American release date December 19) are scheduled for North American release before this year ends. Acclaimed Hong Kong fan favorite actor Chow Yun-Fat star in what I believe to be his first major Hollywood film alongside Mira Sorvino in next year's (February 1998 release date) Hollywood action thriller, ‘The Replacement Killers.'

Reviewed by David Sunga
October 31, 1997

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