Feng yue (1996)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Kaige Chen

Writers:

Kaige Chen (story)
Kei Shu (writer)

Release Date:

13 June 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

What the heart hides, the moon reveals.

Plot:

Not far from Shanghai, in a country twon stands the palatial home of the Pang family. Old Master Pang...

Plot Keywords:

Period Drama | Male To Female Footsie Playing | Gangster | Footsie Under The Table | Sexuality

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Leslie Cheung	...	Yu Zhongliang
Li Gong	...	Pang Ruyi
Kevin Lin	...	Pang Duanwu
Saifei He	...	Yu Xiuyi (Zhongliang's Sister)
Shih Chang	...	Li Niangjiu
Liankun Lin	...	Pang An
Xiangting Ge	...	Elder Qi
Yin Tse	...	Boss (as Xian Xie)
David Wu	...	Jingyun
Jie Zhou	...	The Woman of Zephyr Lane
Yemang Zhou	...	Pang Zhengda
Lei Ren	...	Yu Zhongliang (child)
Ying Wang	...	Pang Ruyi (child)
Lin Ge	...	Pang, Duanwu (child)

Also Known As:

Temptress Moon

MPAA:

Rated R for some intense images of sexuality and opium use.

Runtime:

130 min | Argentina:132 min | Sweden:115 min | UK:127 min

Country:

China | Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Peru:14 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:MA (cable rating)

Company:

Shanghai Film Studios

Sex, Lies, and Silk Screens

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.