Country boy Shuisheng arrives in Shanghai under the guard of his uncle, Li. As a distant member of the Triad Tang family, he's taken to the palatial home of the Boss and given the delicate task of waiting on his mistress, cabaret showgirl Jewel (Gong Li).
Shuisheng is initiated into the glamorous and violent world of Shanghai's gangland while negotiating the unenviable task of tip toeing around Jewel's petulant, fragile ego.
As the body count rises, following a run-in with Fat Yu's rival gang, the Boss orders his household to retreat to a nearby island allowing him time to lick his wounds and come up with a suitably bloody retaliation.
Shanghai Triad is a film of two distinct halves. The first is Shuishengs's eight-day introduction to gang warfare. The more rewarding section focuses on the development of Jewel and her relationship with the outside world.
Gong Li is an exceptional actress whose screen presence and range of extreme emotions far exceeds her contemporaries. Where Shuisheng's innocent first person gaze can be frustratingly expositional, Gong Li's evolution from indulged chanteuse to a woman with a growing sense of her own downfall and ultimately redemption, is a classic role and one that Li performs with great sensitivity.
Yimou, alongside cinematographer Lu Yue, composes stunningly opulent scenery for the cabaret sequences, halting the film's tempo to recreate a new level of expectation.
His use of vivid colour (signifying superficiality and decadence) is equally matched at the opposite end of the spectrum. Muted hues complement the working life in the country, denoting a lost simplicity and harmony at one with nature - wonderfully reminiscent of the spiritual philosophy portrayed by the great masters of Chinese cinema.
Yimou directed the short film showcasing Beijing for its successful 2008 Olympic bid
