The Painted Veil (2006)
Drama, Romance |.
The Painted Veil is a American drama film directed by John Curran. The screenplay by Ron Nyswaner is based on the 1925 novel of the same title by W. Somerset Maugham. Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Toby Jones, Anthony Wong Chau Sang and Liev Schreiber appear in the leading roles.
This is the third film adaptation of the Maugham book, following a 1934 film starring Greta Garbo and Herbert Marshall and a 1957 version called The Seventh Sin with Bill Travers and Eleanor Parker.
On a brief trip back to London, earnest, bookish bacteriologist Walter Fane (Edward Norton) is dazzled by Kitty Garstin (Naomi Watts), a vain London socialite. He proposes; she accepts (“only to get as far away from [her] mother as possible”), and the couple honeymoon in Venice. They travel on to Walter’s medical post in Shanghai, where he is stationed in a government lab studying infectious diseases. They find themselves ill-suited, with Kitty much more interested in parties and the social life of the British expatriates.
Kitty meets Charles Townsend (Liev Schreiber), a married British vice consul, and the two engage in a clandestine affair. When Walter discovers his wife’s infidelity, he seeks to punish her by threatening to divorce her on the grounds of adultery, if she doesn’t accompany him to a small village in a remote area of China.
Director: John Curran
Writers: Ron Nyswaner (screenplay), W. Somerset Maugham (novel)
Stars: Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Toby Jones, Diana Rigg, Anthony Wong, Juliet Howland
Cast:
| Catherine An | … | Hostess |
| Bin Li | … | Te-Ming |
| Bin Wu | … | Student 1 |
| Alan David | … | Mr. Garstin |
| Marie-Laure Descoureaux | … | Sister St. Joseph |
| Sally Hawkins | … | Mary (scenes deleted) |
| Juliet Howland | … | Dorothy Townsend |
| Toby Jones | … | Waddington |
| Lorraine Laurence | … | Sister Maryse |
| Gwing-Gai Lee | … | Angry Chinese Man (as Johnny Lee) |
| Li Feng | … | Sung Ching |
| Gesang Meiduo | … | Amah |
| Edward Norton | … | Walter Fane |
| Yin Qing | … | Student 2 |
| Ian Renwick | … | Geoffrey Denison (as Ian Rennick) |
| Diana Rigg | … | Mother Superior |
| Liev Schreiber | … | Charlie Townsend |
| Sihan Cheng | … | Warlord Kwei (as Shihan Cheng) |
| Liang Sijie | … | Student 3 |
| Maggie Steed | … | Mrs. Garstin |
| Henry Sylow | … | Walter Junior |
| Zoe Telford | … | Leona |
| Lucy Voller | … | Doris Garstin |
| Naomi Watts | … | Kitty Fane |
| Anthony Chau-Sang Wong | … | Colonel Yu (as Anthony Wong) |
| Yan Lü | … | Wan Xi |
| Yu Xia | … | Wu Lien |
| Ma Yun | … | Student 4 |
| Lin Zheng | … | Chinese Opera Star |
| Tian Hua Yao | … | Singing Orphan |
| Di Wu | … | Singing Orphan |
| Yue Qi Liu | … | Singing Orphan |
| Zhuo Er Li | … | Singing Orphan |
| Jia Yi Hu | … | Singing Orphan |
| Yu Tong Guo | … | Singing Orphan |
| Wei Xin Zhao | … | Singing Orphan |
| Xi Chen | … | Singing Orphan |
| Tong Xuan Shi | … | Sinfing Orphan |
| Yu Xin Tang | … | Singing Orphan |
| Qiao Jia Li Gao | … | Singing Orphan |
| Yu Yang Cheng | … | Singing Orphan |
| Jia Hui Guo | … | Singing Orphan |
| Yi Yuan Huang | … | Singing Orphan |
| Shu Hao Xu | … | Singing Orphan |
| Yue Fei | … | Singing Orphan |
| Ting Yu Meng | … | Singing Orphan |
| Zhu Yue Cheng | … | Singing Orphan |
| Qiao Ming Fang Gao | … | Singing Orphan |
| Ya Zuo Tan | … | Singing Orphan |
| John Cann | … | Businessman in Colony Club |
| Maurice Herschtal | … | Businessman in Colony Club |
| Bill Marcus | … | Businessman in Colony Club |
| Shobauro Hiratsuka | … | Businessman in Colony Club |
| Nick Barnes | … | Englishman (uncredited) |
| Hélène Cardona | … | French Nun (voice) (uncredited) |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia