In this exquisite melodrama imbued with national allegory, anything that can go wrong does. Kuei-mei, a poor girl from the mainland, relocates to Taiwan post-revolution and enters into a marriage of convenience with an alcoholic widower. In spite of being initially rejected by his children, she guides the family through decades of poverty and trauma to stability with unblinking, selfless perseverance. As Kuei-mei, Hui Sang Yang gives a phenomenal performance that expertly deconstructs the image of the ideal wife.
