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In the warlord period of the 1930s, an aging itinerant street performer wants a son to carry on his family name. (In traditional Chinese society, girls are of low value. Boys are nurtured to care for their parents in old age, but girls are married out of the family—or, in the case of starving peasants, they're even sold.)

The old man buys a boy from impoverished peasants whose homes and farms have been destroyed by floods. With an adopted son, he can pass down the family secrets that give him his livelihood. He dotes lovingly on the young lad until he finds out that he has been cheated: The boy is a girl. He tries to cast her off, but finally relents and grudgingly allows her to cook, clean his boat home and perform acrobatic tricks.

This visually stunning film addresses profound issues in Chinese history and culture, but its entertainment value and beautifully realized characters make it a true family film.

Content: Suitable for all ages.

Raise the Red Lantern

(China, 1991)

In the 1920s, Songlian, a promising college student, is left without a benefactor and protector when her father dies. The status of women is such that without a father, she must have a husband. Struck by her beauty, a rich man takes her as his fourth wife. Each night the husband chooses a wife to sleep with. His servants place a red lantern at the courtyard door of the chosen one. The master's home is like a walled fortress and the women's whole universe is locked within. Thus, their lives center on manipulating the situation through gossip, accusation and subterfuge. Winning the red lantern is the only goal to which they can aspire.

Raise the Red Lantern is beautifully filmed, using costumes that were banned under Mao, and features one of the few remaining walled homes of the pre-revolution wealthy. Gong Li, who has been called the most beautiful woman in cinema, is an actress of tremendous force. The role of women in China has changed dramatically in one generation, but attitudes about women as chattel remain in some quarters.

We never see the master's face, although we hear his voice. He manipulates the four women for no discernable reason other than the fact that he can. The communist government banned Raise the Red Lantern, fearing that it was a subtle criticism of the old men ruling China. It has since been released there, however.

Content: Strong themes make this film suitable for thoughtful high school students and adults.

Close to Eden

(Mongolia/China/Russia, 1991)

A traditional herdsman marries a sophisticated city woman who refuses, in the financial confines of China's One Child policy, to be intimate. This subplot is delicately and obliquely handled. Mongolia—located on the ancient Silk Road, and with the conquerors Genghis and Kublai Khan among its rulers—was once an economic and military powerhouse. Now it is a backwater of China and Russia. The herdsman and his modern wife are symbolic of the huge changes facing Mongolians.

A gregarious, alcoholic Russian truck driver crashes his truck into a river and spends time with the family. His broad antics and naive goodwill are wonderfully contrasted with the more reticent Mongolians.

Close to Eden is beautifully filmed on the vast grasslands of Mongolia. The characters are delightful, and the story is engaging.

Content: Suitable for all ages, although grade school students might find it slow.

Shall We Dance?

(Japan, 1996)

A Japanese salary man is caught in an endless cycle of long train commutes to his soul-killing job and after-work drinking parties that leave him exhausted. He longs for emotional fulfillment. At a late night train stop, he glimpses a beautiful woman gazing wistfully from the upstairs window of a dance school. Braving the ridicule of a society where non-conformity is brutally repressed, he begins taking dance lessons.

His relationship with the dance instructor is chaste, but his wife worries when she smells perfume on his clothes. Although they care for one another, Mr. Sugiyama and his wife are emotionally cut off. She suspects adultery and hires a detective, who asks her why she doesn't just ask her husband.

Shall We Dance explores territory that helps explain why the birthrate in Japan is declining as young people—particularly women—are forgoing marriage and family, and why Japan is still trying to climb out of a long economic slump.

Content: The film earned a PG-13 rating for "mild language." Fine for older teens and adults.

Next week: The Top Ten Middle East films.

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