Shanghai Story

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Shanghai Story (Meili Shanghai) is a 2004 Chinese family drama directed by Peng Xiaolian. The film follows a Shanghai family once rich capitalists whose fortunes unravel during the Cultural Revolution, and whose French concession mansion becomes a crowded multi‑family home. Years later, the dying matriarch calls her four grown children back home for the first time in decades.

The movie surprised many by winning Best Picture at the 19th Golden Rooster Awards, beating big favorites like House of Flying Daggers. The story touches on sensitive historical subjects, but Chinese censors allowed it with few changes; the studio wanted the ending altered, but the decision was left to Beijing’s film authorities.

Shanghai Story had an unusual release: it did not get immediate domestic distribution, though it was shown at international film festivals. It was released in China in 2005 during the Mid‑Autumn Festival. The cast includes Joey Wang, Josephine Koo, Feng Yuanzheng, and Zheng Zhenyao, with Lin Liangzhong as cinematographer.