Feng yue (1996)

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:

Death | Gigolo | Blackmail | Opium | Brother In Law

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

Colour:

Colour

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

Definitely worth pining for!

I decided to purchase Temptress Moon after viewing the breathtaking, and devastating, Farewell My Concubine. Both movies feature the amazing talents of Gong Li and Leslie Cheung. So total is their transformation between the two films, it's difficult to believe that these are the same actors.

While Concubine served as a historical epic, Temptress Moon seemed more along the lines of Shakespearean tragedy. Like Kaige's previous work, the characters' frustrations signify larger themes: domestic turmoil; gender repression; class conflict; etc. Although these themes concern the private sphere of life and are not as overtly political as those addressed in Concubine, they are just as much about power, its abuse and the resulting disfigurement of the human spirit.

Temptress Moon is by no means a romance. The movie succeeds in being lyrical and melancholy - more engrossing than entertaining. Despite the requisite tragic ending, I found the plot to be oddly satisfying! The waxing and waning fates of Zhongliang, Ruyi, and Duanwu intertwined to create a luminous study of the heart and its insatiable hunger.

Overall, Temptress Moon was a clear reflection of the obsessions that ruthlessly dictate interpersonal affairs. Leslie Cheung, Gong Li and Kevin Lin give mesmerizing performances while supporting portrayals like that of Caifei He as Zhongliang's sister and Yin Tse as Zhongliang's Boss are equally flawless. (Among the movie's many moral messages: "Don't Do Drugs!" :)