The Golden Lotus: Love and Desire

The Golden Lotus: Love and Desire

Directed by Li Han-Hsiang

199195 min6.6 / 10

A dark, sexually explicit drama of lust and betrayal in a corrupt household, where desire breeds jealousy, humiliation, and moral decay.

A corrupt local official, Xi Men Qing, who lusts after women and money, pursues his brother's young wife, Lee Ping Er. Ping finds Men attractive, and under her drunken husband's nose, she and Men work their way through the illustrations of a pillow book, the "Golden Lotus." Men pursues the same feat with his fourth concubine, Pan Jing Lien, who lives in the compound next to Ping. Jing's jealousy compounds a tale of humiliation, childbirth, death, and depravity. Does karma or enlightenment await anyone?

Questions people ask

  • Does The Golden Lotus: Love and Desire end with hope? No. Less hopeful than 96% of films.

  • Is The Golden Lotus: Love and Desire sad? Yes. More sad than 82% of films.

  • Is The Golden Lotus: Love and Desire easy watching? Not especially. Less comforting than 74% of films.

  • Is The Golden Lotus: Love and Desire scary? Somewhat. More frightening than 61% of films.

  • Is The Golden Lotus: Love and Desire violent? Somewhat. More violent than 60% of films.

These describe how the film comes across, measured across the whole film and compared with other well-known films. They are not a content list — nothing here was counted or checked scene by scene, so for age-suitability or specific content use a classification board or a dedicated content-warning service.

61/ 100

Cinnamon Score

How much this film gives you that nothing else will, and whether it delivers.

Familiar shape, done well.

Rarity84

How unlike any other film this one feels

Surprise53

How much more it delivers than it promises

Love50

How much audiences actually like it

The highest scores in the catalogue →

Ensemble

Like The Golden Lotus: Love and Desire

Nearest across the full emotional profile.

Same Mood as The Golden Lotus: Love and Desire

Nearest on what's most distinctive about this one.

Like The Golden Lotus: Love and Desire, But Darker

Similar, pushed toward heavier and more intense.

Like The Golden Lotus: Love and Desire, But Lighter

Similar, pushed toward warmer and easier.

Like The Golden Lotus: Love and Desire, But Less Popular

Same territory, far fewer people have seen it.

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