Temptress Moon
Temptress Moon ★★ Feng Yue 1996 (R)
1920s Shanghai is displayed in all its decadence with opium-addicted Ruyi (Li) forced to officially head the Pang family after the death of her father. Power actually lies with distant male cousin Duanwen (Lin), who manages the household and is drawn to his cold relative. Ruyi's childhood playmate and fellow addict, Zhongliang (Cheung), is now a professional gigolo and blackmailer, working for a gangster (Tian) who wants him to seduce Ruyi and steal the Pang fortune. What happens is an obsessive affair between two beautiful manipulators. Chilly high-style soap opera. Mandarin with subtitles. 113m/C VHS, DVD . HK Gong Li, Leslie Cheung, Kevin Lin, Xie Tian, Zhou Jie, Saifei He; D: Chen Kaige; W: Shu Kei; C: Christopher Doyle; M: Jiping Zhao.