Now available from 88 Films
A brothel established during the Ming Dynasty has as many stories as it has had prostitutes, some of them romantic, some of them violent, and some involving high ranking officials and royalty.
Written and directed by Li Hsang-han, this film is regarded as a sensual indulgence, but watching it with a modern eye shows more trigger warnings than most films of its era, showing abuse right from the start, having one of its main stories be that of someone who was trafficked against her (and her mother’s) knowledge, starting the film on a rather negative mood for most viewers. As the story and its smaller stories once in the brothel, evolves, it seems like the film is cobbled together from more than one script or perhaps from one too many people giving their input, leading to a bit of a muddled reason to be and a central story that feels disconnected from the rest. The different stories meant to titillate get a bit lost coming after the trafficking and abuse of a young woman, a story that shadows the rest of the film with negativity and abuse. The characters here are a bit one-dimensional, something to be expected when there are so many of them in so many stories. The writing works mostly well, but it does leave a bit of frustration in the end as it is heavily uneven throughout the film. The direction works decently well but suffers from the writing’s uneven quality.
The cast here is decent and filled with familiar faces including Jackie Chan who is being used for the marketing of this film but only gets a few minutes of screen time here and there, thus getting more of a glorified cameo than a fully-fledged role, similar to his presence in The Golden Lotus. The cast here is led by Chiu Chin Ku as the violent madam of the brothel, a woman who isn’t afraid to put unwilling girls to work and beat them mercilessly if they do not do as she says. Chiu Chin Ku plays this part quite well, giving the film her signature twist on the character, making her a believable cunning woman in a world made for men. Her performance here is central even though she’s not in most scenes. She gives the film its mood and its personality, giving a great performance that works perfectly here. Lily Ho, Ling Chiang, Tina Chin-Fei, and Miao Ching gives other performances that stand out here. The cast overall is rather good, giving performances on par with most Shaw Brothers movies of the 1970s.
The cinematography by Chao Lin and the editing by Hsing-Lung Chiang give the film that Shaw look that so many are used to these days, one where long sequences are done while moving within a room with the focus gradually changing as the camera shifts through the scene. This gives an oddly effective blurry few seconds that show that the story is moving in its location which gives the film a sort of signature Shaw look. The editing allows these sequences to move and develop, giving the viewer a chance to see the process and the story, giving the film a style and dynamics that work well for the story at hand.
This new re-release from 88 Films has a great look to it with high definition (1080p) perfect for the Blu-ray format. The sound here is good but a bit dated and the new subtitles are good and easy to read.