'Raise The Red Lantern'

I don't go expecting much from a bunch of these Asian films and, yet, I come out being very impressed by their acting, cinematography and direction.

Raise the Red Lantern details the lift of a young girl taken as a concubine at the house of a warlord. She quickly learns that the battle for the lord's attention amidst the concubines is pretty rough. She must capture and keep the man's attention in order to receive the perks such as foot massages and food.

The competition for attention heats up and goes overboard after our heroine rats out a fellow concubine for having an affair. That concubine is executed. Discombobulated by grief and guilt, our heroine goes crazy in the meantime in an uncertain emotional state that we assume she stayed in for the rest of her days.