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some violent images and thematic elements PARENTS STRONGLY CAUTIONED
Plot: What's the story about?
Set in Shanghai in the late 1930s, it is the story of the relationship between a disillusioned former US diplomat and a refugee Russian countess reduced to a sordid life in the city's bars.
Todd Jackson (Ralph Feinnes), once an American diplomat filled with idealism, has become bitterly disillusioned by realpolitik and the seemingly unavoidable nature of war and conflict. Moreover, he is deeply bereaved by the deaths of his wife and children, who were victims of violent political events in 1930s China that also robbed Jackson of his sight.
Jackson is trying to retreat into a smaller, more controllable world by creating here, in one of the world's most licentious, glittering and sordid ports, the perfect bar. After countless hours spent critically examining dive after dive in the city's pleasure districts, Jackson has become a connoisseur of decadence. One day, after a chance meeting with Matsuda - a mysterious Japanese man who appears to share his refined eye for the beauty of low-life establishments - Jackson gambles his savings on a horse, wins, and sets about realizing his masterpiece: a bar that will achieve the exquisite balance of romance, tragedy, and political tension.
Matsuda is a decidedly shadowy figure, but that fails to worry Jackson, and they partner to create the perfect bar. When rumors circulate that Matsuda has come to Shanghai to oversee a Japanese invasion of the city, Jackson still willfully refuses to listen.
Sofia (Natasha Richardson) is a White Russian countess in her thirties who fled the Bolshevik Revolution as a child. Her immediate family have perished, and she now lives in a Shanghai slum with members of her late husband's aristocratic family and her ten-year-old daughter, Katya. The household's sole breadwinner, Sofia works as a taxi-dancer in dingy night spots, resorting to prostitution when times are hard. The rest of the household show their gratitude by endlessly ostracizing her for bringing disgrace to the family.
Jackson encounters Sofia one night working at her taxi-dance hall, decides she is the perfect blend of tragedy and sensuality and asks her to become the centerpiece of his perfect bar. Thus begins a relationship that will see Jackson - despite his best efforts - slowly coaxed out of his enclosed world. He gradually comes to concede that Sofia may be more than a beautiful picture, becomes drawn to the spirited young Katya, and ultimately, into the intrigues within the family to separate Sofia from her child.
The story ends as the Japanese invade Shanghai, with the entire world on the brink of World War II. Ironically, it is at this point that Jackson, in acknowledging his love for Sofia and her daughter, finds reawakened his own idealism for a world free from war.
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Who stars in The White Countess: Cast List
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Maid in Manhattan, Evening
Finding You, The Whistleblower
The Triangle, The Jane Austen Book Club
Imagining Argentina
John Wick: Chapter 4, Mortal Kombat
Who's making The White Countess: Crew List
A look at the The White Countess behind-the-scenes crew and production team. The film's director James Ivory last directed Howards End and The City of Your Final Destination. The film's writer Kazuo Ishiguro last wrote Living.
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Watch The White Countess Trailers & Videos
No trailer available.
Production: What we know about The White Countess?
Filming Timeline
- 2004 - December: The film was set to Completed status.
The White Countess Release Date: When was the film released?
The White Countess was a release in 2005 on Wednesday, November 23, 2005. There were 6 other movies released on the same date, including Just Friends, Yours, Mine & Ours and Syriana.
The White Countess DVD & Blu-ray Release Date: When was the film released?
The White Countess was released on DVD & Blu-ray on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 .