Controversial upon its release in China, Yimou's lusciously photographed, Oscar-nominated "Lantern" tells the story of a trapped woman who learns to play a game of cunning domestic maneuvering and manipulation just to survive. The ravishing Gong Li, a former Miss Hong Kong, is masterful as the newest and youngest wife, Songlian, who is by turns petulant and vulnerable, exacting revenge on her female rivals when she feels her position threatened. Yimou's feel for the domestic drama is keen, and his bold use of color and painterly compositions raise his "Lantern" head and shoulders above the great mass of period films.