Yang Mengchi (Bao Fong) is an indulged ne'er-do-well whose opium addiction has cost him dearly. The family mansion, the Garden of Repose, is now due to be sold to Yao Guodong and his stepwife Wan Zhaohua (Hsia Moon). Yao, too, has an unruly son Siaofu (Bill Chan). Wan's efforts to instil discipline are stifled by the child's indulging grandmother. Juxtaposing the two families and the same tragic end of their sons, Zhu Shilin stays faithful to Ba Jin's realist perspective and metaphorical style. Against the muted, meditative backdrop created by his lens, issues such as the decline of a feudal family and the impact of parenting stand out as particularly thought-provoking. With measured precision and depth, Hsia captures the emotional turmoil of a refined, cultured wife and stepmother coming to terms with her estranged stepson.

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