The Grand Shanghai

This article was written on October 11, 2013

Author: Lü Jianfeng

Daqi, promise me one thing. I don't want my husband to know about our past.

Mrs. Cheng, we've never met, what past?

This is a dialogue from the movie 'The Grand Shanghai'. The first line is said by Zhiqiu, a famous Peking opera actress in the capital, to Daqi, her childhood sweetheart. The second line is Daqi's response. Facing the woman he has longed for, after a reunion twenty years apart, and hearing these words, Daqi's heart breaks. He can only put aside this extravagant hope and brace himself for the turbulent times of Shanghai.

The eternal themes of war and love are vividly portrayed in this film. It was an era where even thieves had their code and loyalty came first. There were brothers who faced death without flinching, and even gangsters who refused to be traitors. These are all brilliant. While heroism can stir the soul, tenderness is like water. The most touching part of the film is the relationship between Daqi and the two women.

Zhiqiu, a Peking opera warrior role performer from the capital, was famous nationwide. She desired a stable domestic life, but Daqi was a man of the underworld, the boss of bosses in Shanghai, living a life on the edge. They were destined for no result. If not for the damn war, perhaps there would have been no later entanglements. On the contrary, Abao, a beauty of troubled times who made a living by singing on the streets and later dancing, I think she was Daqi's true love.

Abao did not want to make things difficult for Daqi. She willingly submitted to a villain and finally died saving Daqi. She sought love and got it. Daqi, holding the deceased Abao, went to his death with courage. And the movie ended. I vaguely remember a scene: Abao called Daqi, heard him listening to Peking opera, knew he was thinking of Zhiqiu. The disappointed Abao said nothing and silently hung up.