3.5/5 stars
An unsolved real-life murder in Japanese-occupied Shanghai in 1945 provides the backdrop for a vicious battle of the sexes in Sheโs Got No Name.
Peter Chan Ho-sunโs captivating period drama proves both morally ambiguous and thematically diffuse โ though perhaps not entirely by its filmmakersโ design.
Hong Kong film-goers should be aware that the 96-minute cut showing in the cityโs cinemas is very different from the sweeping 150-minute version that premiered out of competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
Unlike that presumably shelved edit, the theatrical one is actually the first half of a two-part film that Chan came up with towards the end of the project, which underwent various format changes and was even considered for release as a TV drama series.
Part one follows Zhang Ziyiโs unnamed killer โ referred to by her husbandโs family names, Zhan-Zhou, or simply as Mrs Zhan โ in the brief period between her arrest for the murder and dismemberment of her husband (Wang Chuanjun) and her dramatic change in fortune right at the end of World War II.