Flowers of Shanghai

Flowers of Shanghai Chinese pinyin Hi Shng Hu is a 1998 Taiwanese film directed by Taiwanese director Hou HsiaoHsien and starring Tony Leung, Hada Michiko, Annie Shizuka Inoh, Shuan Fang, Jack Kao, Carina Lau, Rebecca Pan, Michelle Reis and Vicky Wei. It was voted the third best film of the 1990s in the 1999 Village Voice Film Poll.

We are introduced to the main characters, mainly the courtesans known as Crimson, Pearl, Emerald, Jasmine and Jade. Crimson belongs to Huifang Enclave brothel Pearl and Jade to Gongyang Enclave brothel Emerald lives at Shangren Enclave brothel and Jasmine works at East Hexing Enclave brothel. The relationship between the wealthy patrons and the courtesans are semimonogamous, frequently lasting many years.The courtesans are purchased at an early age by the owners of the brothels, otherwise known as Aunties. In spite of the trappings of luxury and the wealth surrounding them, the graceful, wellbred courtesans live lives of slavery. Although there are only a few references to the courtesans being beaten, we are led to understand that there are frequent beatings for the girls and women with harsher Aunties and that beatings for perceived misbehaviour are common. Because of the oppressing social conventions, the best that the courtesans, known as flower girls, can hope for is to pay off their debts some day possible through a wealthy patron or marry into a better social status. ........

Source: Wikipedia