Shanghai Triad

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.