Synopsis

Shanghai, 1936 was a crossroads for political intrigue, refugees escaping turmoil, gathering military forces, international business and underworld culture. Two people caught in this maelstrom forge a bond on the brink of the Japanese invasion: a beautiful Russian countess (Richardson), reduced by circumstances to supporting her family as a bar girl and taxi dancer, and a blind former diplomat (Fiennes), devastated by the loss of his family in political violence and disillusioned by the world's inability to make peace. The story revolves around "The White Countess," the elegant nightclub created by the diplomat to shut out the chaos and tragedy that surround him.

Film Information

• Genre: Drama / War
• Director: James Ivory
• Written By: Kazuo Ishiguro
• Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave, and Hiroyuki Sanada
• Running Time: 138 minutes, approx.
• MPAA Rating: PG-13
• Language: English
• Official Site

Reviews

"It's a very classy, finely made film, and, as one watches it -- particularly those last sweeping scenes of political turbulence and escape -- one feels both pain at their (Merchant-Ivory) parting and grateful for what, together, they achieved."

   - Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

"I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that this oasis of romance amid the turmoil of Shanghai represents the way that Merchant and Ivory, for 40 years, saw themselves: as a sanctuary of calming, life-size taste in a movie culture grown coarse. It was often far from perfect, but I'll miss that sanctuary."

   - Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

"The movie works best as spectacle: as a piece of old-style, non-CGI, on-location epic filmmaking."

   - William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Richardson -- acting with her mother, Vanessa Redgrave, who plays her aunt, and her aunt Lynn Redgrave, who plays her mother -- finds the story's grieving heart. Fiennes is her match in soulful artistry."

   - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

"This is Merchant-Ivory's kind of showmanship, the unflashy adult variety of movie magic that they made their hallmark."

   - Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Showtimes

• Wednesday, February 22nd
  2:30 pm, 5:45 pm
• Thursday, February 23rd
  2:15 pm, 7:15 pm
• Friday, February 24th
  4:45 pm
• Saturday, February 25th
  11:45 am, 7:15 pm
• Sunday, February 26th
  12:00 pm, 2:45 pm
• Monday, February 27th
  2:30 pm
• Tuesday, February 28th
  7:15 pm