Product Review

In this final film by Oscar(r)-nominated producer Ismail Merchant (1994, Best Picture, Remains of the Day), and Oscar(r)-nominee James Ivory (1993, Best Director, Howards End), 1930s Shanghai provides the backdrop for this exceptional drama starring two-time Oscar(r)-nominee Ralph Fiennes (1997, Best Actor, The English Patient; 1994, Best Supporting Actor, Schindler's List) as Todd Jackson, a diplomat blinded in a bombing. An encounter with Sophia (Natasha Richardson, Maid in Manhattan), an exiled Countess employed as a bar girl, inspires him to open his own club, but only if she will work for him. Sophia's in-laws (two-time Oscar(r)-nominee Lynn Redgrave) and Sarah (Academy Award(r) winner Vanessa Redgrave), greedily pocket her income, but denounce her as a bad influence on her daughter. When Japanese troops invade the city, a mass exodus ensues! Alone and afraid, Sophia clings to the only hope left to her - finding her missing daughter!