Ju dou

Ju Dou (Gong Li), the third wife of an impotent and abusive silk merchant Jinshan (Li Wei), finds herself seducing and ultimately falling in love with her husband’s nephew; a seemingly inevitable outcome of a loveless marriage. Jinshan’s abusive nature stems from his frustration at his wives’ inability to conceive (in reality he is sterile). Ju Dou feels this abuse when she too has trouble conceiving. Trouble develops when Ju Dou falls pregnant with her lover’s child, and an explosive situation develops as the child grows and begins to resemble the appearance of his natural father and not Jinshan. Cast includes Gong Li, Li Wei, and Li Baotian. In Mandarin with English subtitles. Banned by the Chinese Government, this film was nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign film, the first Chinese film to receive such a nomination.