20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another masterpiece by Chen Kaige, March 7, 2004
By A Customer
Set in China during the 1920s, Temptress Moon is a brooding Gothic tale about innocence corrupted, love betrayed and the collision of traditional Chinese culture with modern Western ways, played out as an elaborate 'battle of the sexes'. The film's concept is almost as ambitious as that of its predecessor, Farewell My Concubine, but where Farewell My Concubine succeeded brilliantly in communicating both its personal and political aspects, Temptress Moon tends to get stuck in its own convoluted story line and repeated viewing is required to be able to fully appreciate it. Nevertheless, those patient enough to do so will be richly rewarded as this is a masterpiece in disguise, not least due to its stunning photography and the three lead actors' brilliant performances.
Following the death of their parents, 13-year old Zhongliang (Leslie Cheung) is invited to live with his older sister and her husband, the heir of the wealthy Pang family, in their sprawling country mansion. He soon finds himself in the position of a virtual slave who has to wait on them hand and foot. When his brother-in-law tries to force him into an incestuous relationship with his sister, he poisons him and flees to Shanghai where he becomes a gigolo who makes his living off sleeping with married women and then blackmailing them. Meanwhile, the head of the Pang family has died and since the heir has been reduced to a vegetable by Zhongliang's poisoning attempt, his sister Ruyi (Gong Li) becomes head of the family in his place. Since she is only a 'weak' woman, her distant relative Duanwu (Kevin Lin) is appointed to be her servant in order to aid and effectively control her. Duanwu is, however, besotted with Ruyi and when she seizes control of the family's fortunes in an unexpectedly assertive way, he supports her 'shocking' actions, bravely facing the family elders' wrath. His hopes are dashed, however, when Zhongliang, by order of the triad boss he works for, returns to the Pang mansion and sets out to seduce the innocent (but very willing) Ruyi in order to lure her back to Shanghai with him. The cynical gigolo plays to her rebellious nature by educating her in Western culture but soon, to his horror, finds himself falling in love with her. Panicking, he tries to extricate himself from the web of deceit he has woven but it is too late and tragedy ensues.
Temptress Moon is one of the few films that allowed tragic Hong Kong star Leslie Cheung (Farewell My Concubine, A Chinese Ghost Story, Happy Together) to display the full range of his impressive acting skills. He plays the doomed and damaged Zhongliang with disturbing intensity, from the dashing gigolo who is so full of hate that he won't allow himself to feel any emotions to the tormented young man who, when he finally does fall in love, is forced to confront his inner demons and is destroyed by it. He shines even in the smallest scenes, like when he slouches at a dancehall table and tries to seduce a young girl into dancing with him but then abandons the idea when he realises that she is crying. Without saying a single word he conveys a wealth of conflicting emotions that most other actors wouldn't be able to express if they had so many lines of dialogue to help them along. It is a pity that many people still seem to be unable to see past his 'pretty face' and realise what an exceptional actor he was underneath. As for the others, the great Gong Li is excellent as always in her poetic portrayal of the innocent but spirited Ruyi who tries to find her way in a hostile and oppressive environment and Kevin Lin gives a superb performance as the naïve Duanwu who, through betrayal and humiliation, turns from loyal and devoted servant into a devious brute.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Great Wall, January 20, 2004
Gorgeous, decadent, sensual, at times psychologically incoherent, Kaige Chen's "Temptress Moon" is nothing if not always fascinating to watch because at the very center of this film, at it's core, is a story about family, desire and the things we do to each other in the name of love.
Set mostly in Shanghai in the 1920's when China was opening up to the world outside of it's borders, it is reminiscent of Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor," in it's surface beauty and rich, idle, beautiful characters: Zhonglaing (Leslie Cheung), a gigolo and his cousin Ruyi (the incandescent Gong-Li) a recent heiress. Chen is a director who is more interested in showing than telling and his images are so dynamic and surprising that they smack you in the gut.
"Temptress Moon" is a film of uncommon grace and beauty, more of a tone poem than a symphony perhaps but always deserving of your time and attention.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Moon over Shanghai, August 30, 2000
Temptress moon takes us to the pre 2nd world war China where emperor still ruled and powerful families lived in big lands with many servants and employees. Story starts with a young member of the family who flees from home after her sister and her husbands lustful and opium based life that suffocates him. He poisons his sisters husband and flees to Shanghai. He becomes a gigolo who ambushes married rich ladies and blackmails them for a Chinese mafioso. Years later he returns home in order to seduce the young master of the house who was also a childhood friend a sister to him. The lead acting is provided by Gong Li and Leslie Cheung ,meeting one more time after the "farewell my concubine" and executed brilliantly. Scenes are well shot and especially nite time shots of the films opening scenes as well as street shots and hotel ballroom shots of Shanghai is impressive. Gong Li and her faultless innocence and Cheung's troubled sophistication and regret draws the main lines of the story and it journeys throughout the film, leaving us in curiousity of "what will happen in the next scene ?" The real surprise of the film is the unexpected ending that really adds to the overall success of the film. An alternative story of love and hate which will get your emotions going.
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