The sheer photographic beauty of "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" is absolutely mind-boggling. Wayne Wang's superlative, dramatic tale of two women bound by "laotong," opens today and is a feast for the lover of visual artistry. Every shot is perfectly focused, perfectly lighted, and the beauty seems natural.
Richard Wong is the cinematographer, Dierdre Slevin the editor, and their work is an absolute treat for the eye. The shots of today's Shanghai are equally impressive; it looks like a city of tomorrow.
The story covers several hundred years in the lives of Lily (Bingbing Li) and Snow Flower (Gianna Jun), who morph into Nina and Sophia in the 20th century. Several hundred years ago, "laotong" was a ceremonial bonding of little girls who would remain close friends and major supporters of one another. Lily also goes through the equally ceremonial and far more painful experience of having her feet bound, a tactic that supposedly helped secure a better marriage.
No matter the century, the girls/women are typical, sometimes together, sometimes apart, but always with a bond that remains in memory.
In modern Shanghai, Nina is the darling of the club circuit, and has a relationship with Hugh Jackman as a cafe owner and man about town.
Shanghai today looks sometimes ghostly, sometimes sharp as a drawing, but always impressive, even if other-worldly. It is when people, from stars to minor players, sit still for what often appears to be a portrait, that Wong's camera work is so impressive. There are overtones of soap opera along the way, but the screenplay, by Angela Workman, Ron Bass and Michael K. Ray gives the director a framework and Wang brings forth a first-rate film.
Snow Flower and the Magic Fan opens today.
—Joe