Synopsis

Based on a screenplay by revered novelist Wang Anyi, Ann Hui’s third and as yet most sumptuous adaptation of Chinese literary icon Eileen Chang’s work presents yet another acerbic take on how women are forced to compromise themselves in love and war. Here, the painful coming-of-age is that of Weilong, a Shanghainese schoolgirl seeking solace and secondary education in Hong Kong under the aegis of her aunt Mrs Liang. But her socialite custodian has other plans for her: the teenager would become yet another valuable asset to be pawned to rich men. Amidst all this, Weilong falls for the playboy George, someone destined to break her heart in a universe of shameless excess. And such excess is certainly brought vividly to the surface by Christopher Doyle’s camerawork, Ryuichi Sakamoto’s score and Emi Wada’s wardrobe — a heavenly collaboration propping up the depiction of an infernal, amoral world.