Shanghai Triad (1995)

directed by Zhang Yimou
featuring Gong Li, Li Baotian, Li Xuejian, Sun Chun, Wang Xiaoxiao, Jiang Baoying

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Country boy Shuisheng (Wang Xiaoxiao) is brought to 1930s Shanghai by his uncle who wants the boy to become a member of the powerful gang ruled by ... Show synopsis Country boy Shuisheng (Wang Xiaoxiao) is brought to 1930s Shanghai by his uncle who wants the boy to become a member of the powerful gang ruled by manipulative Tang (Li Baotian). In fact, Shuisheng will serve Tang's capricious mistress Bijou (Gong Li), a nightclub singer whom the boss proclaimed "the Queen of Shanghai." When the boy's uncle and the gang's several other members die during a rival gang's unsuccessful attempt on Tang's life, the latter retreats to a remote small island, taking both Bijou and Shuisheng with him and thinking of revenge. The film's English-language title is a little bit deceiving (the original Chinese title translates to "Row, Row, Row to Grandmother's Bridge," a line in Tang's favorite song performed by Bijou), as this drama centers more on the boy's coming of age and Bijou's disillusionment than on Shanghai gang wars. ~ Yuri German, Rovi Hide synopsis