Katherine of Alexandria, brought up as a nomad and living in the desert, was aged just 11 when Emperor Maxentius saw her whilst out on patrol. Consumed by her beauty, impudence and uncanny talent for languages, he abducted the child, killing her family. The slaughter was witnessed by her young friend, Constantine, who would later become Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. He never lost hope of finding Katherine. As a young woman, Katherine refused to submit to Maxentius' offers of marriage and she continually denounced his brutal enforcement of pagan religion upon the masses. Still obsessed with her beauty, Maxentius brought Katherine before 50 of Rome's finest scholars in an open court in Alexandria, where she eloquently demolished their arguments. When Constantine learned of Katherine's whereabouts and imprisonment at the hands of Maxentius, he led his army from York in a desperate bid to save her.。该片荣获1995年第52届威尼斯电影节最佳影片金狮奖。越南天才导演陈英雄继《青木瓜之味》后第二部作品,也是梁朝伟在《悲情城市》之后再次受到全世界瞩目的电影。本片对越南底层社会的触目惊心的描述,对黑帮贩毒、杀人放火、变态的性的刻划,再现出一个充溢着堕落与罪恶的越南。一个几乎还是孩子的三轮车夫、一个诗人气质的黑帮分子(梁朝伟饰)、一个为生活所迫不惜卖身的妓女都在与这个城市一起腐烂。两个多小时的片子里,那鲜红的血哗地一声不知从何处淌了出来,也就是在那一刹那,触到了生命的质感。影片以坚硬的力度、残酷的美感、血腥的诗意构筑了一个辛辣而令人晕眩的世界......。