DATE: Sunday, November 2, 1997              TAG: 9711010063

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Movie review

SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC 

                                            LENGTH:   54 lines

FILM WORKS AS SUSPENSEFUL ESCAPIST FARE

``RED CORNER'' is a quite entertaining melodrama-whodunit about an American lawyer who is framed on a murder charge in China. Its Alfred Hitchcock-style ``wrong man'' suspense is permeated by exciting chases through Beijing alleys, narrow escapes to the American embassy, and courtroom surprises. It is clear, though, that it aspires to be more.

Released at the same time as Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit, ``Red Corner'' presents a picture of the Chinese judicial system that is horrendous at best. Richard Gere, who plays the accused American, is locked in a cell from hell and informed that his best move would be to plead guilty. Those who resist, we are told, are given no mercy. Execution is within days.

The film, which was shot in Hollywood, not China (except for a few exterior shots) claims to be ``the first serious, contemporary movie about China done by Westerners.'' The word ``serious'' is in question. This is closer to standard escapist fare. It is suspect because the script was originally written to be set in Moscow, before Communism fell.

It seems China is to be the resident movie villain. Five new movies have Chinese villains, including the current ``Seven Years in Tibet.'' The fact is that the snarling torturers in ``Red Corner'' are as heinous as any of the Japanese villains who were featured in World War II propaganda films, designed to unite the United States in war.

Aside from factual questions, the film is lively, if somewhat predictable. Gere, yet again assigned to play a cocky lawyer, is in China to sell a cable TV system that will promote American views in the country. (Considering the quality of TV, this, in itself, might qualify as an act of war.) After a night with a beautiful Chinese pickup, he wakes to find her dead body - along with police who arrest him for her murder. He seems destined for a quick trial.

The best thing about the movie is Chinese actress Bai Ling, who is cast as his lawyer. She has an intelligence and an exquisitely delicate bearing that remind one of the late Audrey Hepburn.

There are holes in the plot, such as the fact that Gere could escape at one point, but doesn't, and the seemingly insurmountable court tactics are too-easily solved, but the film is interesting in dealing with a foreign land seldom dramatized. The love story gets in the way.

A movie such as this is obviously not the place to get facts. It is the place to get melodrama. As escapist fare, and nothing else, it delivers the goods. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

MOVIE REVIEW

``Red Corner''

Cast: Richard Gere, Bai Ling, Bradley Whitford, Peter Donat

Director: Jon Avnet

MPAA rating: R (sexual situations, nudity, violence, language)

Mal's rating: Two 1/2 stars

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu