Feng yue

As the story unfolded I began to feel that it had been cribbed from a Russian novel. A set of unlikeable codependent characters feeding on each other's misery. The dark tale of a once powerful family's decadent descent into impotent obscurity serves as an allegory for the Ching dynasty. I only wish that there had been more character development, the minor family member Duanyu, who ended as the head of the family - what was his motivation for his betrayal of Ruyi?

The photography is sumptious, and the performances beyond reproach. The films moves slowly and requires the audience to pay attention, but for those who like a dark tale of pending doom and destruction it is worth it.

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.

Not only the society in China decades ago, but also the current Chinese society. Again, like the movie Farewell My Concubine also directed by Mr. Kaige Chen, this film is also a work of contemporary criticism told in the form of a story happened decades ago.

Unlike the story of Farewell My Concubine (Ba Wang Bie Ji), what reflected in this film is far too close to home: what happened more than half a century ago is happening again in China and the director was more direct in criticizing the decadence in this film.

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.

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.