by Kristina Curkovic
The American judicial system has gotten a bad rap since recent media circus cases like the Simpson or Menendez brothers' trial. We often hear of the odd case in which a criminal gets off on a technicality that makes our blood boil and shrug our shoulders and comment on the leniency and irrationality of the U.S. courts.
| Red Corner |
| Directed by Jon Avnet. |
| Featuring Richard Gere and Bai Ling. |
This problem is sharply contrasted with those of the Chinese judicial system in Jon Avnet's new film, Red Corner. In it, Jack Moore (Richard Gere) is close to closing a multimillion dollar deal with the Chinese television industry when he has a onenight stand with a beautiful Chinese model. When he wakes up in the morning he is surrounded by police and government officials who quickly accuse him of and arrest him for the murder of the woman. The officials ignore his demands for rights as an American citizen, and Jack is unceremoniously thrust into the bleak world of the Chinese judicial system, in which reticence is met with lenience, and resistance with death.
Not exactly the "land of the free, home of the brave." But, interestingly, the U.S. is not portrayed in any less of a harsh light. The U.S. embassy is unable and unwilling to deal with the case because of the strict policies of China's legal code, and because of the precarious nature of ongoing trade negotiations. So Jack's only friend - if that - becomes his cool, sharp defense advocate, Shen Yuelin (Bai Ling).
The relationship between the two has a rocky start, but as the case continues Shen begins to see that her client is telling her the truth. As issues about his possible innocence start to emerge, both Jack and Shen find their lives in danger at the hands of the very people who hold Jack captive and whom Shen is trying to disprove in court. Such obvious injustices abound in the movie. Language barriers make Jack easy prey to the conniving court; Shen's investigation is constantly impeded; the judge makes random decisions based on Jack's imperviousness to Chinese beliefs in respect and reticence. Jack's case is in the hands of higher powers for whom the facts of the case are detrimental. However, despite such injustices, the movie comes short of portraying Jack's situation as truly disturbing or intense. We feel bad for - but don't want to save - Jack from his awful state.
The strongest parts of the movie are the fastpaced courtroom scenes and those in which the intellectual, rather than the emotional, lead the plot, although the complex case does get a little complicated at times. The film makers insist on creating people that we must like by introducing Jack's sad past and Shen's Revolutioninfluenced background, detracting from their more interesting us-against-them relationship.
On the whole, the film works as a sometimes blood-boiling look into the injustices of a communist country. A strength of the film is that the U.S. is not portayed as a savior of the oppressed; its decisions, too, are influences by less-than-patriotic motives. The contrast that the film sets up between the two countries, where in the larger the murder rate is one-tenth of that of the smaller, is an uneasy one. Which is really the worse of two evils? The question is important, for, in real life, the good guys don't always win.