China 1920. The eldest son of the Lu family, Dao Jing, is a homosexual man who loves cross-dressing and has a fetish for silver ornaments. Dao Jing's wife cannot tolerate her gay husband and she begins an affair with a young silversmith. Knowing her misconduct, Daojing's father murders the young silversmith and frames her for the crime.
Production
Lush 1920s period detail that chokes you with silk and silver.
Acting
Wang Tonghui's devastating, restrained performance as the trapped heir.
Direction
Huang Jianzhong frames desire like a crime scene.
Director
Huang Jian-Zhong
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Adapted from a Ye Zhaoyan novel, the film was controversial in China for its frank depiction of queer sexuality in Republican-era fiction.
The silver ornaments function as both queer-coded objects of desire and instruments of class performance—Dao Jing is literally fetishizing the family wealth that owns him.
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