A filmmaker's real-life drama

What perplexed her and her director is the audience's reaction toward her character.

"Are you sure you're talking about the woman she plays in the film, not Hung herself?" asks Jiang.

"This is an abominable woman with no redeeming values whatsoever. I don't understand why people are so into her. Maybe they are subconsciously masochists."

Hung expressed a similar shock on a separate occasion.

As for the subliminal scene of the warlord's son and the detective carrying on a gay affair until they formally tie the knot, which eluded most viewers, Jiang explained the brevity of the description was due to star actor Ge You's time constraints.

Jiang's movies are invariably dense and rich with multiple strands and layers, often with little regard for narrative conventions.

But what he serves up is a world of hallucinatory delights.

And this may be too much for a society craving mundane pleasures.