This film is definitely not a picker-upper. It’s one of those relatively unusual films with an unhappy ending. As I watched it, I kept thinking how thrilled I am that I don’t live in that household.

The harem’s environment and its peculiar rules and traditions encouraged competition among the ladies for the master’s attention. This concubine rivalry led the harem members to go to vicious lenghts to knock out their competition. I thought it quite ironic when the master kept saying how all the “sisters” should get along with each other, when he was the very one (indirectly) pushing them to be so competitive.

On a side note, I was amused to read some of the tags that people have added to this movie’s page on this site, tags like “spinach and bean curd” and “the death house”. I don’t know why those were added, but they brought a little chuckle out of me.