The Bold, the Corrupt and the Beautiful

There are no men in the Tang family. The devious Madame Tang (Kara Wai, Mrs K) hard-hearted matriarch and shady syndicate leader, acts as mediator between the rich and the powerful. Tang Ning (Wu Ke-xi, The Road to Mandalay), her rebellious daughter, reluctantly cooperates with her while Tang Chen, the obedient granddaughter, observes everything in silence. Only when a friend of theirs and his whole family has been murdered do they realise that they are in deep trouble. This stylised melodrama, a spectacle of family dysfunction and moral depravity, is highly intensified by the chilling performances of its actresses.