Synopsis

In 1930s China, orphaned Zhongliang returns to the wealthy Pang family estate, where resentment and class prejudice push him toward a life of manipulation and crime. Years later, he is sent back to exploit Ruyi, the family's headstrong heiress. Their reunion revives old emotions, but family power struggles, revenge, and social hierarchy turn attraction into a dangerous contest.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film was adapted from Ye Zhaoyan's novel Flower Shadow and was presented as an official selection at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.

• Production was unusually troubled. Several actresses were cast and then replaced during filming before Gong Li took the role of Ruyi. The delays reportedly added five or six months to the schedule.

• Around 40 days of material had already been filmed before Gong Li joined the production, forcing the filmmakers to undertake extensive reshoots.

• Leslie Cheung's performance includes a brief dance in red sequin high heels. The sequence was intended to emphasize the character's freedom from conventional ideas about masculinity and sexuality.

• The film reunited Gong Li and Leslie Cheung after their appearances together in Farewell My Concubine, but its smaller, more intimate story proved more expensive and difficult to make than that earlier production.