No happy-endings for denizens of 30s Shanghai, 31 May 2010
*** This review contains spoilers ***
In some quarters, Shanghai Triad has been acclaimed both for its excellent cinematography and storyline. I'll go along with the accolades for cinematography but storyline I'm not so sure about. 'Triad' is seen through the
eyes of Shuisheng, a boy from the country, who is brought to Shanghai by his Uncle Liu, both distantly related to #1 crime boss, Tang. Uncle Liu has arranged for the boy to act as a servant to Xiao Jingbao (Gong Li), a cabaret singer who happens to be Tang's mistress.
All the action occurs within a week's time. It seems Shuisheng has bad luck as shortly after he's picked up by Uncle Liu, he witnesses a gang rub out by Tang's second in command, Song. It seems that Song felt that an associate of rival crime boss, Fat Yu, did not show enough respect. Tang tries to smooth things over with Fat Yu by making a courtesy call to his rival and they eventually end up playing a friendly game of mah jong.
Meanwhile Shuisheng must endure catering to Xiao who arrogantly treats him like dirt, calling him a country bumpkin. Xiao is a popular singer at Tang's club but must be continually reminded not to sing a particular song that the boss despises. In fact, Xiao hates being Tang's mistress and trashes her own apartment, cursing the boss when he's out of earshot.
Things move along slowly until Fat Yu's henchmen attack Tang at his home and seriously wound him. During the attempted assassination, Uncle Liu is murdered. The attack forces Tang to regroup and he and his posse, along with Xiao and Shuisheng relocate to an isolated island off the coast of Shanghai. There, Xiao softens up and befriends a peasant woman and her young daughter. She also gives Shuisheng some coins and hopes that one day he can go off on his own and open up his own business.
Finally, things come to a head when Shuisheng overhears a muted conversation by thugs hired by Song who plans to murder his boss. Shisheng bursts into a cabin and informs Tang of the plot but it seems that the boss already knows Song has planned to murder him. Song is soon dispatched along with Xiao who is blamed for having an affair with Song. Xiao pleads with Tang to spare the peasant woman's life but he tells her that she knows too much and must be disposed of. The peasant woman's daughter will be taken into captivity and raised to be Tang's new mistress. Meanwhile, Shuisheng tries to attack Tong, enraged that Xiao has been put to death. Tang teaches Shuisheng "a lesson" by hanging him upside down on the boat and the coins that Xiao gave him fall into the water. Shuisheng will not be opening up any businesses of his own anytime in the foreseeable future!
As you can see, there isn't a whole lot of plot to sink your teeth into here. Triad is slow-moving and simply doesn't have a lot of surprises. On the plus side, there's no Hollywood happy-ending as all the protagonists meet an untimely end, either dead or in captivity. The unsentimental ending is meant to illustrate the nature of pre-Communist, urban Chinese society in the 30s, replete with amoral, brutal gangsters such as Tang and self-centered materialists like Xiao, who tragically fails to wake up until it's too late.
Shanghai Triad is worth watching mainly for the cinematography and overall style and atmosphere. If you're looking for an in-depth character study, you will not find it here. 'Triad' emulates American gangster pictures but unlike some of the better American efforts, its characters don't have enough idiosyncrasies to draw you in (that includes the mostly mute Shuisheng, who says very little during a good part of the film). 'Triad' is definitely worth watching at least once, but I'd have to think hard about watching it twice.
May 31, 2010
