Shanghai Triad

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Matthew D @OceanSage Feb 3, 2026 Gong Li is resplendent in this intriguing look inside Triad mob violence and the inner sorrows of women. Director Zhang Yimou’s Chinese crime drama Shanghai Triad (1995) is fantastic! Shanghai Triad is sort of like Zhang Yimou’s take on Goodfellas through a boy’s perspective. Wang Xiaoxiao is excellent and sympathetic as the young country boy Tang Shuisheng, who is Gong Li’s servant. Gong Li is gorgeous and amusing as the wickedly cruel Shanghai nightclub singer Bijour, who is referred to as Xiao Jinbao. She is the Tang Triad boss’ mistress. She is so entertaining, whether singing her silly songs or abusing her wait staff. Gong Li is a beautiful and mesmerizing woman with a vicious personality as Jinbao. Her cruelty to her servants is amplified by her dangerous affair. You get her inner misery immediately behind her forlorn singing and sultry dances at the nightclub. Gong Li demonstrates how a woman’s power then depended on the man she was with in this Triad. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Jul 1, 2025 Success in 1 hour and 48 minutes. See more Alec B @Alec97 Feb 21, 2024 The tragedy of the ending is hurt by the meandering narrative that precedes it (I do like the nightclub scenes but I think they should have added a lot more character focused material to balance this out) which is a shame because the cinematography and set/costume designs are exquisite. See more Jul 19, 2022 The tragedy of the ending is hurt by the meandering narrative that precedes it (I do like the nightclub scenes but I think they should have added a lot more character focused material to balance this out) which is a shame because the cinematography and set/costume designs are exquisite. See more Oct 20, 2016 Sumptuous period piece - but director Zhang Yimou can't seem to settle on which story to tell: the coming of age of the boy Shuisheng or the humanization of his "Miss" Bijou. Zhang's stumblebum Shanghai mob just gets in the way. See more May 21, 2015 Depressing but visually poetic film. See more Read all reviews

Shanghai Triad

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