One finger. One night. One wrong move and everything changes.
Luna is a story that is set in 1930s Shanghai. The main character, Luna, is a high-end prostitute. When an unexpected guest visits her, she offers to play a dangerous game with him, and their bargaining chip is his pinky finger. As the game goes on, the sexual and political tension develops, which leads to unexpected consequences.
Acting
Jessika Van's controlled, devastating stillness
Cinematography
Shadow-drenched 1930s Shanghai opulence
Direction
Xu Zhang's ruthless compression of tension
Director
Xu Zhang
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Xu Zhang filmed this as her USC thesis project, shot on location in a historic Shanghai brothel replica built for a Zhang Yimou production.
The finger-cutting game references actual Qing dynasty torture methods repurposed by warlords—Luna weaponizes history against her colonizer.
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