By Ian Kane
G | 144m| Action, Drama, History | 1997
Imagine the Kardashian sisters without the cosmetic lines and reality TV shows. Instead, three Chinese sisters marry revolutionaries, bankers, and generals while China collapses and reforms itself every few years in the first half of the 20th century. That’s the framework within which the biopic “The Soong Sisters” works.
Three sisters raised in privilege return to China in the early 20th century just as political power begins shifting through revolution, military command, and financial leverage.
Kuomintang forces, in “The Soong Sisters.” GJW+
The film announces its intent in advance with its tagline: “One loved money. One loved power. And one loved China.” It almost sounds like a joke told too loudly at a dinner party, but the film takes it seriously and expects you to do the same.
Roadmap to Power
The story centers on the daughters of Charlie Soong (Wen Jiang), a wealthy Christian publisher whose fortune allows him to send his children to the United States for schooling. The film shows the sisters returning to China fluent in English, comfortable in Western settings, and unusually mobile within the upper crust of Chinese society.
Michelle Yeoh plays Soong Ai-ling, the eldest sister, who marries H.H. Kung (Zhenhua Niu), a wealthy banker and later a government official. Her storyline remains largely separate from revolutionary movements or ideological campaigns. She appears primarily in domestic, advisory, and social settings tied to finance and stability. Compared with her sisters, Ai-ling’s arc is less about political beliefs and more about position. Yeoh plays the role with restraint, keeping her character observant and controlled.
Soong Ching-ling (Maggie Cheung) occupies the opposite space. She marries political leader Sun Yat-sen (Winston Chao); the film directly connects that relationship to revolutionary nationalist activities (at least initially). Ching-ling is shown to be closely associated with Sun Yat-sen’s movement in the Republic of China and remains politically active as the story progresses.
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(L–R) Soong Ai-ling (Michelle Yeoh), Soong Ching-ling (Maggie Cheung), and Soong May-ling (Vivian Wu), in “The Soong Sisters.” GJW+
Vivian Wu plays Soong May-ling, the youngest. She marries Chiang Kai-shek (Hsing-Kuo Wu), and her arc follows his rise within the Nationalist (Kuomintang) government once Sun has died. The film presents her as socially ambitious and politically alert, moving quickly from youth into public life. Her marriage is shown less as a romance than as an alignment with authority and command.
History Softened
The strongest passages of the story are the ones that keep the sisters together. Their disagreements feel personal and relatable. They argue, withdraw, and reconcile without speeches explaining what they represent, and the siblings behave like family members navigating incompatible loyalties.
The great Maggie Cheung as Soong Ching-ling, in “The Soong Sisters.” GJW+
Mabel Cheung directs the film as a large-scale historical melodrama. Interiors are expansive, and crowds of extras are carefully arranged. The score cues signal importance, whether or not the moment earns it.
Overall, the high level of craftsmanship is evident, especially in the costume and set design departments. Abrupt changes in clothing frequently mark various shifts in status or proximity to power. This visual clarity helps the viewer track the story as it moves quickly through many years of political change.
There is also noticeable caution in how conflict is staged. During production, the film experienced delays and revisions connected to approval for release in mainland China, and some footage was cut prior to its distribution.
In the finished film, major ideological disagreements are often resolved through time jumps or narrative compression rather than any sort of in-depth examination. While it acknowledges division, it rarely follows those fractures to their most historically accurate (and deadly) outcomes.
That restraint affects the political framing. The communist movement is presented largely through sympathetic figures and hopeful language, with little attention paid to later consequences. The narrative fails to address the violence and destruction that followed the consolidation of power by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
By contrast, Chiang Kai-shek is portrayed primarily as rigid and authoritarian. The film emphasizes his control and ambition while giving limited attention to his opposition to communist expansion or the conditions under which he operated. That narrowing flattens the historical picture. Chiang isn’t presented as an effective leader, and the film largely sidesteps why he opposed the communists in the first place.
Performance-wise, Maggie Cheung appears in many of the film’s key political scenes and is central to the narrative through multiple historical periods. Yeoh’s role is smaller by design, but her presence adds credibility to scenes that might otherwise feel ornamental. Wu grows more effective as May-ling’s public role expands, although the film moves quickly past key transitions.
“The Soong Sisters” works best as a highly polished historical melodrama focused on relationships shaped by power. It’s a beautifully mounted piece of cinema that is often engaging, but it’s limited in how deeply it confronts the consequences of the troubled era it depicts.
The film invites admiration for its scale and performances while asking viewers to accept a softened version of historical events. That choice defines both its appeal and its boundaries.
“The Soong Sisters” is available on GJW+
‘The Soong Sisters’ Director: Mabel Cheung Starring: Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh, Vivian Wu MPAA Rating: G Running Time: 2 hours, 25 minutes Release Date: May 1, 1997 Rated: 3 1/2 stars out of 5
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