Shanghai Triad

The easy, shorthand approach to "Shanghai Triad" is to call it Zhang Yimou's "Godfather."

And indeed that would seem to be the case, as the Chinese director of "Raise the Red Lantern," "Ju Dou" and "To Live," moves forward from his films' usual periods, to create a '30s gangster picture, Shanghai-style.

But despite its forays into a familiar genre, "Shanghai Triad" is nothing like what we've come to expect from American crime flicks. Mood and strong character development are the order of the day, and Zhang's restraint, his refusal to lower himself to in-your-face gore or sex, pays off as his observations on those subjects become all the more powerful. (It's an understatement to suggest that American filmmakers could learn something about the powerful impact that subtlety and nuance can have on an audience.)

With atmosphere to spare, "Shanghai Triad" takes us from the city's backstreet warehouses to its glittering nightclubs, and eventually to a remote island where the final reels reveal the characters' true colors with a few unexpected twists.

The story unfolds through the eyes of 14-year-old Tang Shui-sheng (Wang Xiao Xiao), the nephew of Shanghai godfather Mr. Tang (the excellent, low-key Li Boatian). Mr. Tang wants a young servant for his mistress, Xiao Jinbao (Gong Li, who is fabulous, as usual) — and he doesn't trust anyone outside the family.

Fresh from poverty-stricken country life, Shuisheng is naive and backward, and he gets a shocking wakeup call when, on his way into town, a brief diversion makes him witness to a drug deal and a killing.

And when Shuisheng finally does meet the godfather, it's a rather anticlimactic moment for him, since he is hardly acknowl-edged.

Worse, the boss's mistress is an arrogant, obnoxious singer at a triad-owned nightclub, where she uses the stage name "Bijou."

A former prostitute who enjoys the finer things life has to offer, Bijou seems to have Mr. Tang wrapped around her little finger. At the same time, however, she throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way and lets Mr. Tang know she doesn't appreciate being neglected in favor of his opium dealings. This alone would seem to place her in dangerous territory — but just to put little more stress on the situation, she's also having an affair with one of the godfather's lieutenants.

As Shuisheng begins working for Bijou, it's predictable that he will, at first, fall victim to her contemptuous, petulant demands. And it's also easy to see that they will gradually develop a respectful, if tenuous, relationship.