The Soong Sisters

1997 "One loved money. One loved power. And one loved China."
7| 2h25m| en| More Info
Released: 06 September 2000 Released
Producted By: Orange Sky Golden Harvest
Country: Japan
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

The Soong family was a political dynasty in China that reached the highest levels of power. This film follows the lives of the three Soong daughters, who were educated in America and returned to China. Ai-ling married a wealthy and powerful businessman. Ching-ling married Sun Yat-sen, the revolutionary founder of modern China. Mei-ling married Chiang Kai-shek, China's leader during World War II. The sisters captured the world's fascination for their brilliant marriages and their strong influence on their nation.

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Reviews

ThiefHott Too much of everything
RyothChatty ridiculous rating
Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.
Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
thebeautifulones A romantic, yet tragic story about the relationship between 3 sisters which would ultimately shape the future of China.Beautiful cinematography, excellent cast, even to the tiniest details about the lives of the sisters were well done.A scene where the characteristics of the 3 sisters were laid out for all to see was the demonstration that they attended at a very young age. We recall how the father, Charlie Soong had asked them to throw away their dolls as they were foreign made. The youngest refused, so the second took her doll and her youngest sister and threw it into the raging fire. The eldest on the other hand hid her doll in her sleeve. A testament to the characters of the girls.The show makes us love the second sister, Ching-ling for her passion and dedication to her country. It makes us look at all 3 sisters and feel that the luckiest was the one motivated by greed and thus married a banker. We cry as we see Ching-ling lose her baby, then her father, and finally her husband, as if it was the price she paid, for loving her country.The show makes you feel sorry for the Communists as Chiang Kai shek went around persecuting them while Japan was fighting a war with China. Cries from his own party members to unite with the Communists to fight the Japanese went unheeded until he was abducted. One wonders if Chiang ever realised that his true enemy was himself, and not the Communists.One feels sorry for Sun (acted well by Winston Chao, and he looks uncannily like the man himself), perhaps because his true vision of China was probably realised at a very heavy price, the price of freedom. While Soong Ching-ling remained loyal till the very end to her country, a question lingered long in her mind and the minds of her sisters...did they find the new China their father had wanted them to find? All 3 lead actresses displayed their acting prowess in the show. The youngest (played by Vivian Wu), who thought it was romantic of her sister to elope with Sun though life with him would have been very unstable, yet who had no qualms about standing by her husband in the quest for greater power. The role of the second sister was well played by Maggie Cheung as she showed her love for her country, her wit (when she said that both she and the plane were made in China, so why could they not trust made in China goods) and her loyalty to the memory of Sun (when she stepped down from the party, feeling that its true principles had been betrayed.Michelle Yeoh acted well as the eldest sister, she even looks the part (as a mentor to her younger sisters). Her approval of the match between Chiang and May-ling showed that she let greed get the better of her. She knew Chiang would be powerful, and what better business deal to do than to strike one with the most powerful man in China? Hsing-kuo Wu did well as Chiang kai shek. Not only did he look the part, the manner in which he exude wickedness made you believe that Chiang is there at the scene in the movie! So one loved money, one loved power, and one loved her country. And the country's future depended on the relationship of these sisters. Is that why the story never truly ended?
undanceable One should not use the word "entertaining" to describe this movie. I watched the movie with unspeakable emotions. It is only when one can feel the awe at how the fate of the Soong sister was intertwined with the fate of modern China, that one can really appreciate the movie. It is my personal observation that the Soong sisters are also the 3 major representatives of the Chinese people today, but if only they could work together like the Soong sisters...In terms of performance, the earlier part of the movie is spoiled by the horrid acting of Winston Chao. For the great father who liberated modern China from the rotten feudalism of the Qing dynasty, wasn't the producer obliged to find a more compelling actor for the role?
keala This was a pretty involving movie to me. Of course, until I saw it all I knew about the Soong sisters was that they had the same last name as me, so I don't know how accurate or entertaining it would be to people more familiar with the subject. Regardless, it does have great-looking scenes and fine performances, especially from Maggie Cheung.
Yongwook Yoo Mabel Cheung's abuse of her talents for a tribute(or bribery) to main China. Her femini-nationalism has shifted from warm and sympathetic episodes of Chinese emigrants to a bravado of Song sisters' historic activities during the political turmoil of modern China. Kitaro's music and all-star castings are just a whip of exceedingly sweet cream decorated on a clumsy cook's cake, in order to hide the black burnt sides. They did not want cream but cake for the celebration of Chinese retrieval of Hong Kong!