Hired to be a servant to pampered nightclub singer and mob moll Xiao Jinbao (Gong Li), naive teenager Shuisheng (Wang Xiaoxiao) is thrust into the glamorous and deadly demimonde of 1930s Shanghai. Over the course of seven days, Shuisheng observes mounting tensions as triad boss Tang (Li Baotian) begins to suspect traitors amongst his ranks and rivals for Xiao Jinbao’s affections.
Legendary director Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern, House of Flying Daggers) presents an “assured and attention-grabbing” (Variety) take on the gangster film while Gong Li’s central performance, “a portrait of a capricious and indulgent woman who gains depth as we watch her – is one of her finest” (Chicago Tribune).
DIRECTED BY ZHANG YIMOU
FRANCE, CHINA | 1995 | MANDARIN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
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