And yet, I still hope the characters in the new film could function within a vivid social background. Only when there is a strong grasp on the life times of the protagonists can their distinct characteristics be crystallized. This is where the strength of a Chen Kaige film lies and he agreed with me on this point.

Chen Kaige's original concept was that the film should confine itself within a household. It was supposed to be relatively low budget film. However, if we had to recreate the visual look of the era we had in mind, the production would become one enormous process.

For example, although the streets on the bund of Shanghai still exists, it is impossible to make them resemble what they looked like seventy years ago. Stopping all traffic during shooting was also out of the question. Our only alternative was to build our own outdoor sets in the suburb of Shanghai. We recreated Nanking Road out in the fields and supplemented it with stately mansions and a tram track. A ballroom was also built in a soundstage. Almost every setting you see in the film was especially built for the occasion except for the Pang Estate which was a composite of various authentic buildings in three different provinces. Interestingly, while my production crew was busily assembling our vision of the 20s, my husband was immersed in building his skyscrapers of the 90s, also in Shanghai.

Chen Kaige began his sessions with his screenwriter in April 1993. We began shooting an August 1994 but were forced to shutdown due to unforeseen difficulties. It was not until April 1995 that shooting could recommence. It took three years, a huge budget (actually more than twice of that of Farewell) and a lot of problem solving before we had a finished film.

The film is not an epic, but through its journey into the psychological landscape of the characters, it has indeed achieved the sense of an epic. This is Temptress Moon.