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The White Countess
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Synopsis
James Ivory directed this historical drama of a man who has shut himself away from a world he cannot change. Todd Jackson (Ralph Fiennes) is an American expatriate living in Shanghai in the late '30s. While Jackson was once an American diplomat who came to Shanghai with great optimism about China's future, the bitter political squabbling and military violence that are a part of daily life in China caused him to become bitterly disillusioned. Jackson also lost most of his sight, and he has retreated into Shanghai's decadent underworld of bars and brothels rather than face the world. When a wager on a horse race wins Jackson a small fortune, he decides to indulge a long-time fancy and build the perfect Shanghai bar, one that would ideally reflect that corrupt beauty of the city, and he is joined in his project by Matsuda (Hiroyuki Sanada), a Japanese man with a mysterious past and an appreciation for Shanghai's underbelly. While assembling his pet project, Jackson meets Sofia (Natasha Richardson), a Russian countess who fled her home during the revolution and now lives in Shanghai, supporting her family as a dance-hall girl and occasional prostitute. In Sofia, Jackson discovers a fusion of beauty and tragedy that fascinates him, and he asks her to become the hostess at his new bar. As Jackson becomes closer to Sofia, his cynicism begins to wear away and he develops a deep concern for Sofia and her family. The White Countess also co-stars Vanessa Redgrave, and Lynn Redgrave -- respectively Natasha Richardson's mother and aunt. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast

Alan Corduner Samuel
Ralph Fiennes Todd Jackson
Madeleine Potter Greshenka
Lynn Redgrave Olga
Vanessa Redgrave Aunt Sara
Natasha Richardson Countess Sofia Belinsky
Natasha Richardson Sofia
John Wood Uncle Peter
Hiroyuki Sanada Matsuda
Jean-Pierre Lorit Antoine Jacquier
Ying Da Kao
Dan Herzberg Frenchman
Lee Pace Crane
Luoyong Wang Liu
Madeleine Daly Katya
Pierre Seznec Russian Singer

Production Crew

Chen Shaomian Art Director
Steve Simmonds Art Director
Yu Baiyang Art Director
Rahila Bootwala Associate Producer
Yue-Sai Kan Associate Producer
Celestia Fox Casting
Karole Armitage Choreography
Christopher Doyle Cinematographer
Tony Pierce-Roberts Cinematographer
Paul Bradley Co-producer
Richard Hawley Co-producer
Richard Robbins Composer (Music Score)
John Bright Costume Designer
James Ivory Director
John David Allen Editor
Andre Morgan Executive Producer
Andreas Schmid Executive Producer
Marcus Schöfer Executive Producer
Patrick Ko Executive Producer
George Every First Assistant Director
Ismail Merchant Producer
Andrew Sanders Production Designer
Andrew Saunders Production Designer
Kazuo Ishiguro Screenwriter
Bian Qi Set Decorator
Lan Bin Set Decorator
Wang Shanqing Set Decorator
Robert Hein Sound/Sound Designer
David Fletcher Special Effects Supervisor
Year: 2005
Runtime: 135
Country: China
MPAA Rating: PG13
for some violent images and thematic elements
Category: Feature

Genre
Drama
Romance

Produced by
Merchant Ivory Productions
Shanghai Film Group
VIP Medienfonds 3

Release
December 21, 2005 (USA - Limited)
by Sony Pictures Classics