Red Corner Information

Red Corner is a 1997 American thriller film directed by Jon Avnet and starring Richard Gere, Bai Ling, and Bradley Whitford. Written by Robert King, the film is about an American businessman on business in China who ends up wrongfully on trial for murder. His only hope of exoneration and freedom is a female defense lawyer from the country. The film received the 1997 National Board of Review Freedom of Expression Award (Richard Gere, Jon Avnet) and the NBR Award for Breakthrough Female Performance (Bai Ling). Ling also won the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress.

Plot

Red Corner tells the story of a wealthy American businessman named Jack Moore (played by Richard Gere) working in China and attempting to put together a satellite communications deal as part of a joint venture with the Chinese government. Before the deal goes through, he is framed for the murder of a powerful Chinese general's daughter, and the satellite contract is awarded to Moore's competitor, Gerhardt Hoffman. Moore's court-appointed lawyer Shen Yuelin, (played by Bai Ling), initially does not believe his claims of innocence, but the pair gradually unearth further evidence that not only vindicates Moore but also implicates powerful figures within the Chinese central government administration, exposing undeniable conspiracy and corruption. Shen manages to convince several high-ranking Chinese officials to release evidence that proves Moore's innocence. Moore is quickly released from prison while the conspirators that framed him are arrested. At the airport, Moore asks Shen to leave China with him, but she decides to stay as there are many more things to change in China. However, she admits that meeting Moore has changed her life, and she considers him part of her family now. They both then share a heartfelt hug on the airport runway. This end was clearly inspired by the famous final scene from Casablanca, with the sexes reversed.

Cast

• Richard Gere as Jack Moore
• Bai Ling as Shen Yuelin
• Bradley Whitford as Bob Ghery
• Byron Mann as Lin Dan
• Peter Donat as David McAndrews
• Robert Stanton as Ed Pratt
• Tsai Chin as Chairman Xu
• James Hong as Lin Shou
• Tzi Ma as Li Cheng
• Ulrich Matschoss as Gerhardt Hoffman
• Richard Venture as Ambassador Reed
• Jessey Meng as Hong Ling
• Roger Yuan as Huan Minglu
• Chi Yu Li as General Hong
• Henry O as Procurator General Yang
• Kent Faulcon as Marine Guard
• Jia Yao Li as Director Liu
• Yukun Lu as Director Liu's Associate
• Robert Lin as Director Liu's Interpreter

Production

Red Corner was shot in Los Angeles using elaborate sets and CGI rendering of 3,500 still shots and two minutes of footage from China. In order to establish the film's verisimilitude, several Beijing actors were brought to the United States on visas for filming. The judicial and penitentiary scenes were recreated from descriptions given by attorneys and judges practicing in China and the video segment showing the execution of Chinese prisoners was an actual execution. The individuals providing the video and the descriptions to Avnet and his staff took on a significant risk by providing it.

Reception

Upon its theatrical release in the United States, Red Corner received generally negative reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes the film received a 32% positive rating from top film critics based on 22 reviews, and a 49% positive audience rating based on 7,795 reviews.

Cynthia Langston of Film Journal International responded to the film, "So unrealistic, so contrived and so blatantly 'Hollywood' that Gere can't possibly imagine he's opening any eyes to the problem, or any doors to its solution, for that matter."

In his review in the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan described Red Corner as a "sluggish and uninteresting melodrama that is further hampered by the delusion that it is saying something significant. But its one-man-against-the-system story is hackneyed and the points it thinks it's making about the state of justice in China are hampered by an attitude that verges on the xenophobic."

Salon film critic Andrew O'Hehir noted that the movie's subtext "swallows its story, until all that is left is Gere's superior virtue, intermixed with his superior virility"?both of which are greatly appreciated by the evidently underserviced Chinese female population." O'Hehir also noted that the film reinforces the infamous Western stereotypes of Asian female sexuality (as in those of The World of Suzie Wong) as well as the hoariest stereotyping.

Rating

In the United States, the film is rated "R" for violence and sexuality. In the People's Republic of China, the film was banned for political reasons. In other countries, the film was rated 14 (Iceland), 16 (Iceland), 18 (South Korea), 13 (Argentina), M (Australia), KT (Belgium), 14 (Chile), K-16 (Finland), U (France), 12 (Germany), A (India), B (Mexico), 14 (Peru), M/12 (Portugal), NC-16 (Singapore), 13 (Spain), 15 (Sweden), 12 (Switzerland, Geneva), 12 (Switzerland, Vaud), and 15 (United Kingdom).

Broadcasting

On June 30, 2001, BBC One's broadcast of the film was interrupted for about 15 to 20 minutes due to a power failure at the BBC Television Centre. As a result, the film was broadcast in two parts and ended approximately 20 minutes after its original ending time.