The Soong Sisters

"Once upon a time in distant China, there were three sisters. One loved money, one loved power, and one loved her country." So opens this historical, melodramatic chronicle of the influential lives of three daughters from one of pre-Communist China's wealthiest families. Two of the Soong sisters married important figures in 20th-century Chinese history. Soong Ching-ling married Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Chinese Republic while her sister May-ling married Sun's successor, the famed Chian Kai-shek. The oldest daughter Ai-ling married industrialist H.H. Kung, a wealthy and powerful man who eventually became Hong Kong's finance minister. — Sandra Brennan

The Story

Three sisters who had eventful lives during the traumatic evolution of modern China.
Three sisters were dreaming of the new age. At the beginning of the past century, there were three sisters in China brought up in an unconventional way by their parents but with a lot of love. Coming back from America where they were studying, each of them chose a completely different partner from the others. The oldest one married the heir of a wealthy financial group who made his company even bigger, big enough to influence the Chinese economy. The second daughter fell in love with a communist revolutionary, married him despite her family's wishes and devoted herself to the revolution with him, later becoming the Vice Chairman. The youngest daughter married an ambitious nationalist army commander. The revolutionary and the army commander, who destroyed the previous dynasty and founded the new China, became enemies later and the revolutionary was defeated just before the whole Chinese nation was united. The agitation in those days in China tore the sisters apart as well as the nation itself. The sisters trifled with the irony of fate, got through the Imperial over-throw, the Japan-China war and then the Chinese civil war with equal amounts of love & hate.

Cast

Winston Chao - Sun Yat-Sen
Maggie Cheung - Soong Ching-Ling
Jiang Wen - Charlie Soong
Elaine Jin - Madame Soong
Niu Zhenhua - H.H. Kung
Wu Hsing-Kuo - Chiang Kai-Shek
Vivian Wu - Soong May-Ling
Michelle Yeoh - Soong Ai-Ling

Production Credits

Mabel Cheung - Director
Raymond Chow - Producer
Ng See-Yuen - Executive Producer
Alex Law - Co-producer / Screenwriter
Arthur Wong - Cinematographer
Mei Fung - Editor
Kitaro - Songwriter
Randy Miller - Songwriter
Eddie Ma - Art Director
Emi Wada - Costume Designer
Gary Wilkins - Sound/Sound Designer
Roger Lee

Soundtrack

Original Music By Kitaro and Randy Miller
Music Orchestrated and Conducted by Randy Miller
Music Produced by Kitaro and Gary Barlough
Exective Producer: Eiichi Naito
Additional Orchestrations by : Peter Tomashek
Andre- Kinney
Music Engineered by Gary Barlough and Peter Kelsey
Music Mixed by Peter Kelsey
Music Preparation by Sean Hickey
Chinese Instruments Performed
Er-Hu : Warren Chang
Liu Qi-Chao
Yang-Chin:Buyun Zhao
Pi-Pa : Ziying Wu
Orchestral Music performed by the Northwest Sinfonia
Music recorded at : Mochi House Studio,
Ward, Colorado Saint Thomas Center,
Seattle, Washington
Cover Design : Masanori lshizuka

Awards

Cannes Film Festival - Officially invited film
Berlin International Film Festival - Officially invited film
Toronto International Film Festival - Officially invited film
Tokyo International Film Festival, Woman's Week - Nominated
Aichi International Woman's Film Festival - Nominated

Hong Kong Academy - Winner of six awards
Best Female Act - Maggi Chan
Best Male support Act - Chan Wou
Best Cinematography -Arthur Won
Best Art- Eddie Mar
Best Costume - Emi Wada
Best Original Soundtrack- Kitaro & Randy Miller

Chinese People's Awards - Special award

Taiwan Academy Awards
Winner of three awards
Best Original Soundtrack - Kitaro & Randy Miller
Best Art - Eddie Mar
Best Sound Effect - Kinson Twan

The Soundtrack

Kitaros

Meine Sammlung/My Collection