Friendship between women-the deep and secret friendship of 'sworn sisters' in Chinese society-forms the core of Wayne Wang's film, which was adapted from the popular novel by Lisa See. The original setting was 19th-century China, but the screen version weaves a parallel tale on two additional time lines-present-day Shanghai and the same city in the 1990s. This structural complexity proves an insuperable barrier to effective storytelling. While the action flashes back and forth in increments of centuries, years or months, we're adrift in the here and now, trying to get a grip on the characters and their relationships, yet finding it loosened with every new dislocation. (The screenplay was written by Angela Workman, Ronald Bass and Michael Ray.)
女性之间的友谊──中国社会“结拜姐妹”之间秘密而深厚的友谊──构成了王颍（Wayne Wang）这部电影的核心。该片改编自邝丽莎（Lisa See）的畅销小说。小说的背景是19世纪的中国，但电影同时讲述了两条时间线上的两个故事，分别发生在19世纪的上海和现代上海。事实证明，这种复杂的结构是实现有效讲故事的不可逾越的障碍。镜头来回穿梭于不同的世纪、年和月之间，我们的心则在此时此地悬在半空，试图理解片中人物及人物之间的关系，却发现随着每一次新的时空转换，我们就会失去驾驭力。（剧本由安吉拉•沃克曼（Angela Workman）、罗纳德•巴斯（Ronald Bass）和迈克尔•雷（Michael Ray）创作）

The parallelism extends to the performers. Gianna Jun and Bingbing Li play the dual roles of Snow Flower and her beloved Lily in the 19th century, and young women named Sophia and Nina in the present and recent past. They're more interesting, though seldom compelling, in the historical sections, which are themselves more interesting for the density of detail gleaned from the novel-the shared excruciation of foot binding, the secret language with which the friends communicate, the irresolvable conflict between their love for one another and the pull of dutiful wifedom. Modern Shanghai, in ceaseless evolution, is interesting to look at-Richard Wong's beautiful cinematography reminded me of 'Phantom Shanghai,' a superb book of photos by the Canadian photographer Greg Girard-but the phantom China of long ago is where the film comes to life, whenever it stops there for a truncated visit.
平行手法也应用到了演员身上。全智贤和李冰冰扮演19世纪的雪花和及其挚爱百合两个角色，现代时空里的索菲亚和尼娜两个年轻姑娘也由她们扮演。她们在古代部分更有趣，但不怎么扣人心弦，从小说中搜集到的极致细节增添了趣味──共同经历裹小脚的煎熬、二人之间交流的秘密语言，两人的爱慕关系和嫁做人妇之间无法解决的冲突。不断演变的现代上海很吸引眼球──黄世宁（Richard Wong）拍摄的优美画面让我想到了《上海魅影》（Phantom Shanghai），这是加拿大摄影师格雷格•吉拉德（Greg Girard）创作的一本优秀摄影集，但让影片具有生命力的则是近代中国的幻影，每当镜头切换至过去并短暂停留，这部电影就活了起来。