Opium is at the center of this story. It shows what it does to the Pang family when the elder son of the clan immerses himself in it. Pang An, a snobbish man, brings Zhongliang, the young brother of Yu Xiuye to the compound to tend to his vice. Ruyi, who is first seen as a young girl, playing with her cousin Duanwu, likes him until Zhongliang falls out of favor and flees to Shanghai.
Zhongliang's life in Shanghai goes through a transformation as he becomes part of a gang that extort money from wealthy women who fall in love with members of the gang, who then proceed to extort money from them to keep things quiet.
When the old man of the Pang family dies, Pang An is too far gone into his opium to rule. In a surprise movement, Ruyi is made head of the family and she has Duangwu serve as her adviser. The boss of the gang in Shanghai learning about it decides to send Zhongliang to lure Ruyi to their turf. Fate intervenes as Zhongliang falls madly in love with the ravishing Ruyi, who in turn, will discover what the young man was really after and who is instrumental for Ruyi's fall at the end.
The film relies on the visual aspects Chen Kaige has brought to the story. This is one of the most daring Chinese films as far as the sexual context that is seen on the screen. Never before has the Chinese cinema shown scenes that burn the screen as when Zhongliang and Ruyi make love.
Chen Kaige is a director with a style of his own. He co-wrote the screen play in which this film is based. The action takes place during the first part of the 20th Century in China before the period that changed that country into what it is today.
The best asset in the film is the way Chen Kaige sets his story in motion. He surrounds his tale with some of the most dazzling sets in recent memory and the reconstruction of the night life and the criminal around Shanghai in that period is effectively captured in the excellent cinematography by Christopher Doyle. The atmospheric music heard in the background is by Jiping Zhao.
The gorgeous Gong Li plays the adult Ruyi and the late Leslie Cheung is Zhonliang. Kevin Liu is seen as Duanwu and Caifei He is Xiuye. The supporting cast add a note of authenticity to the film.
This is one of Chen Kaige best achievements as a director.
Zhongliang's life in Shanghai goes through a transformation as he becomes part of a gang that extort money from wealthy women who fall in love with members of the gang, who then proceed to extort money from them to keep things quiet.
When the old man of the Pang family dies, Pang An is too far gone into his opium to rule. In a surprise movement, Ruyi is made head of the family and she has Duangwu serve as her adviser. The boss of the gang in Shanghai learning about it decides to send Zhongliang to lure Ruyi to their turf. Fate intervenes as Zhongliang falls madly in love with the ravishing Ruyi, who in turn, will discover what the young man was really after and who is instrumental for Ruyi's fall at the end.
The film relies on the visual aspects Chen Kaige has brought to the story. This is one of the most daring Chinese films as far as the sexual context that is seen on the screen. Never before has the Chinese cinema shown scenes that burn the screen as when Zhongliang and Ruyi make love.
Chen Kaige is a director with a style of his own. He co-wrote the screen play in which this film is based. The action takes place during the first part of the 20th Century in China before the period that changed that country into what it is today.
The best asset in the film is the way Chen Kaige sets his story in motion. He surrounds his tale with some of the most dazzling sets in recent memory and the reconstruction of the night life and the criminal around Shanghai in that period is effectively captured in the excellent cinematography by Christopher Doyle. The atmospheric music heard in the background is by Jiping Zhao.
The gorgeous Gong Li plays the adult Ruyi and the late Leslie Cheung is Zhonliang. Kevin Liu is seen as Duanwu and Caifei He is Xiuye. The supporting cast add a note of authenticity to the film.
This is one of Chen Kaige best achievements as a director.