Verführerischer Mond

I watched this movie on the T.V. and I think if I had seen it in a theatre I would have rated it higher than 7. It is a fascinating story, beautifully told. The atmosphere created was wonderful. The story is tragic. The early childhood of Zhongliang was horrifying, as was the life led by the Pang family,addicted to opium; the cruelty shown him by his sister and brother-in-law truly shaped Zhongliang's character. Part of the movie is set in Shanghai in about the 1920's seemed real. It is a sad tale of corruption and cruelty.

Another exorcism by Chinese master Chen Kaige (who directed "Farewell My Concubine" three years earlier), of China's disastrous meltdown in the early 20th Century. An old landed family sinks into decadence as the Qing dynasty collapses and the chaotic early years of a Chinese republic swirl around their ghostly ancestral hall and mansion gardens.

Into this scene returns an extended-family member, Zhongliang (played by Hong Kong star Leslie Cheung), ostensibly to position himself for his Shanghai gang's takeover of the estates. But Zhongliang's return home awakens old wounds and rips open all new ones in a family reeling from generations of drug use and the collapse of an ancient civilization.

Cousins, brothers-in-law, sisters, then become embroiled in a sick game of love, lust, and revenge. This is a very sobering film yet hauntingly beautiful at times. All performances, from a radiant Gong Li, down to the smallest roles, are superb. The character development is profound, the story compelling, and the production values are stunning. A first rate movie.

The images are very impressed. The color, the shadow, the depth of field and the framing are excellent. Every individual image is a great picture! Specially in the scene of presenting Ruyi as the master of the family, the soft lens makes Ruyi's white clothes flared, so that it emphasizes her special position in the family as well as her angel image.

We often see the sexual victim as woman. As contrary, this movie describes a male victim from the sex abuse of his sister and his brother-in-law. The tragedy goes deeper when this victim destroys the others and himself.

In summary, this movie is on my collection list.

This is a depressing, sad, dark, seedy, suspenseful movie full of intrigue, cunning, and deceit. It is a fine work of cinema in the dramatic sense. But, I did not find it to be as sensual as its billing had led me to believe. I expected a more erotic, sensual overtone to some of the story and/or the scenes. But, instead it was a tale laced with opium, betrayal, and desperation in a world that was changing from the old ways of ancient China to the newer ways of the West. I can see why it would have caused such controversy in China in the first place, as the box proclaims. But, I think that words like, "Sensuous," "Steamy," and "Ravishing," were over-used. It was a good story not for the tame of heart or mind. There are many quiet parts of the movie where there is little action and few words. It works well if you have the mindset to pay attention patiently. I think that a film like this will appeal to select audiences and I would be a little weary to recommend it to everyone. I think some people will like this film, others absolutely love it, while others yet may be bored with the slow-moving action and dark dialogues.

Few film makers capture this history of China from a Chinese production company, unless it is a propaganda piece. Excellent acting by the beautiful and fabulous Gong-Li and Leslie Cheung.

Gong Li as Ruyi, falls into the rare, but possible, role of head of the Pang Family, a somewhat traditional family in Shanghai, China; after her older brother falls into opium addiction and her father dies.

As a family head, she is almost in the status of a ruling house, and requires a marriage; confidential advisors; and love. By reason of her birth, she is also sheltered froom the world.

Still banned, at this writing, from circulation in China; this beautiful story photographed in a nearby Shanghai location; with actual ancestral hall and mansion with garden; transcends the dynasty (as it begins in 1911-12) through two decades of the new Republic. Cheung is a Capo or Dai-Lo of a Shanghai Triad after growing up in the Pang household. Gong-Li lives with the duty a death has given her, after "elders approval" and must cope with her childhood friend & cousin as a lover and trusted adviser; while being courted by the returned from Shanghai Cheung; with whom she falls in love.