Ju Dou

Tianqing returns from a silk-selling journey and reconnects with a village ruled by Jinshan's brutal authority. He learns Jinshan has a new wife and that tyranny continues unchecked, even as old power structures prevail. The revelation sets the stage for a dangerous, forbidden entanglement to come.

A fellow worker informs Tianqing that Jinshan has married again and remains cruel to those around him. The worker recalls Jinshan beating his first two wives to death when they failed to bear him a son. The information confirms the household's dangerous dynamics.

Tianqing is drawn to Ju Dou when he first encounters her as Jinshan's new wife. Ju Dou is already trapped in a cruel household, and a spark of attraction quickly forms between them. The meeting marks the beginning of a perilous connection.

At night Jinshan subjects Ju Dou to torture, and Tianqing secretly watches from a hidden vantage. He discovers Ju Dou's bathing area and begins to see her vulnerability with new clarity. Ju Dou is aware of his presence and lets him glimpse her pain.

Ju Dou reveals the bruises and speaks of the suffering Jinshan inflicts. Her honesty shatters Tianqing's initial voyeuristic gaze and makes him see her as a human being. The bond between them deepens in response to her pain.

Tianqing and Ju Dou's relationship blossoms, though it remains secret and dangerous. They meet in hidden corners around the mill, driven by a growing, uncontrollable attraction. The affair marks a turning point in both their lives.

Ju Dou becomes pregnant with Tianqing's child, and the couple decides to deceive Jinshan by presenting the child as his own. They attempt to shield themselves from Jinshan's wrath by maintaining the lie. The discovery would upend an already fragile balance.

Jinshan suffers a stroke, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. In his weakened rage, he attempts to kill the child and sets the house on fire, showing the last of his tyrannical control. The event catalyzes a desperate struggle for power and survival.

Tianqing restrains Jinshan by suspending him in a barrel, rendering him a powerless witness to the couple's usurpation. Jinshan's authority collapses as the lovers consolidate their position. The moment shifts the power dynamics decisively.

Aware that society would never accept her infidelity, Ju Dou seeks an abortion at a nunnery. The decision underscores her vulnerability and the couple's isolation within the rigid social order. Their future remains uncertain as Jinshan’s influence over Tianbai persists.

Jinshan continues to exert influence over his son Tianbai, and even when the boy calls him 'Father', Jinshan reads this as a personal revenge against Ju Dou and Tianqing. The psychological hold over the family endures despite the public downfall of the patriarch. Tianbai's loyalty becomes a key source of conflict.

One day Jinshan slips and falls into a dye vat, and he drowns amid the chaos of the mill. Tianbai watches and laughs, witnessing the end of his grandfather's tyranny. The tragedy marks a turning point for the surviving couple and the household.

Seven years pass and Ju Dou and Tianqing still run the dye mill, but Tianbai has grown into an angry teenager. The family remains under the shadow of rumors and past betrayals, while the plant continues to churn.

Rumors of his parents' infidelity reach Tianbai, prompting Ju Dou to reveal the truth about his parentage. The revelation fractures the fragile façade that held the family together. Tianqing and Ju Dou brace for the consequences.

In a final, fateful night, Ju Dou and Tianqing attempt one last encounter in a cellar with limited air, risking their lives. Tianbai drags Tianqing out and drowns him, ending the affair in tragedy. Ju Dou then sets fire to the mill, and the film closes on chaos and ruin.