Justicia roja

Overall, this isn't a bad movie. It's a pretty decent courtroom drama - sort of "Law & Order Beijing." It's got a lot of suspense, and it provides a fascinating glimpse of the inner workings of the Chinese justice system. I offer that last point with the proviso, of course, that the star of this movie is Richard Gere, and Gere is known for having a somewhat anti-Chinese (or, more accurately, anti-People's Republic of China) outlook. The view of China presented here is an ominous one - and that's not entirely fabricated. I travelled to China a few years ago. I never got in trouble with the law (thank goodness!) but still when you're walking through Tienanmen Square and a column of Chinese soldiers suddenly comes marching right toward you shouting at you, you know that the basic message (even though you don't speak Chinese) is "get out of the way or we'll trample you!" So, yes, even in completely unthreatening circumstances, there are vaguely threatening elements to being in China.

In this movie, Gere plays Jack Moore, an American businessman trying to close a deal in China, who picks up a girl at a nightclub. She ends up being murdered in his hotel room, he's the prime suspect and it's clear that "the system" has decided he's guilty before he even goes on trial and the court flat out refuses to hear any evidence that supports him and challenges the obviously pre-arranged verdict. How Moore can triumph over this system is the issue.

All that's pretty good. Gere's performance is good. The problem is the "one American man takes on the entire People's Republic of China" scenario. Yes, Moore had a court appointed defence lawyer (played by a young U.S. based Chinese actress named Ling Bai) who becomes increasingly sympathetic to him and wants to prove his innocence, but essentially Moore does it all himself. Even in the courtroom, he essentially takes over the case, questioning witnesses - even when his lawyer is there. That all was a bit too much, and it strained the movie's credibility too far. Still, it's an entertaining and suspenseful if perhaps implausible couple of hours.

Rambling drama about a US salesman arrested for a murder he did not commit, Red Corner has actual footage of Beijing convincingly mixed with the main shooting which gives the impression that the movie was actually made in China - and presumably with the approval of the Chinese authorities. Unfortunately, this is not really true, and the main Chinese lead - Ling Bai, whose name means 'white light' or 'white spirit' - was at Tiananmen in 1989 and emigrated to the US shortly thereafter. I've met students who lived in China at the time who absolutely refuse to discuss the situation back home; that Ling Bai does is testimony to her 'white spirit', and she really does steal the show from Gere here, in a kind of reverse Casablanca 'hill of beans' role. Whether the depiction of conditions in the Chinese judicial system is accurate or not, the movie does succeed in making the viewer understand that there are two views to almost anything, and that in China, as anywhere, power corrupts. Stacking the deck against consular officials is a nice touch, for these people are truly the cowards and turncoats the movie makes them out to be. The plot swerves from the inexplicable to the Orwellian to a love story (which does, it is true, sort of come out of nowhere), but the final scene on the tarmac does much to salvage that. Maybe Gere wanted to make the Chinese look bad, but they certainly don't need his help. Based on an incident that happened not in China but in Italy, Red Corner is viewable without ever coming close to being a great film. Its one claim to greatness is Ling Bai - she's absolutely fabulous.

This film revealed the Chinese justice system accurately. I am from China. I have experienced the Chinese justice, it favors the rich and man with connections with the officials, they can forge evidence to frame you, and you can do nothing about it disregard your strong evidence indicate otherwise. People here are nothing but slaves to the powerful red machine. Those corrupt officials always get away with it. Maybe that is why the Hong Kong counterparts want universal suffrage to guarantee their rights not being violated. This film tells the accurate story of how the Chinese Justice System works. The party officials control the lawyers and judges from behind and decide the outcome of the lawsuits.

This is a very well written and directed film with good locations and very good acting. The discourse on the Chinese approach to justice and the potential for corruption in their state-centered society is sharp and, from my experience, accurate. It is delivered as part of an entertaining story with very strong performances by the leads. I like Richard Gere in this, as I do Ling Bai's performance. Their chemistry attracts the viewer and helps us through the difficult issues the film addresses. A must see.

This film held my interest because of the great acting by Ling Bai,(Shen Yuelin),"Edmond",'05, who is a very educated Chinese lawyer and is placed in a very difficult situation in having to defend Richard Gere,(Jack Moore), "Unfaithful",'02, who is also another lawyer from the United States. Jack Moore gets himself in a very bad situation with a young Chinese woman, he some what falls in love with this gal on first sight and winds up in bed with her and all kinds of problems seem to happen. Jack wakes up and can't remember very much of anything that seemed to have occurred with this young gal and winds up being thrown into jail and having to live like a pig in horrible conditions. Richard Gere and Ling Bai are a great combination, however, the film is rather long and drawn out and intends to become a bit boring.