White Countess, The (2005, U.K./Germany/China/U.S.A.)

This is the final film by producers Ismail Merchant and James Ivory.

1930s Shanghai provides the backdrop for this exceptional drama starring  Ralph Fiennes as a diplomat blinded in a bombing. An encounter with Sophia, an exiled Countess employed as a bar girl, inspires him to open his own club, but only if she will work for him.  Sophia’s in-laws greedily pocket her income, but denounce her as a bad influence on her daughter. When Japanese troops invade the city, a mass exodus ensues!  Alone and afraid, Sophia clings to the only hope left to her – finding her missing daughter!

The cast also includes Natasha Richardson, Lynn Redgrave, Vanessa Redgrave and John Wood.