The women are bought and sold. Oppressed, they respond with emotional terrorism. They're monsters, by and large, themselves. None of them questions the existing set-up. And nothing here is called by its rightful name.
Money never changes hands in public.
The women have beautiful names, but one wrong move will end them up on the street, without a penny. Out of sight there are beatings, deaths from starvation and disease. I don't know Hou's motive for making this film, but I would assume it has something to with the situation in present-day China. At any rate, it should. The WSWS invites your comments.