Characters talk about sex. (not in graphic detail)

One mild sex scene: two characters undress. Although no nudity is revealed, it is obvious they are naked. They lie down on a bed and begin to kiss but are interrupted before proceeding further. The scene then ends.

A main character is a concubine.

Implied sexual abuse of a young boy playing a concubine by an older male.

Children at the opera are frequently physically abused/"disciplined" including being hit with a sword, having their limbs stretched by ropes, being forced to hold heavy items, etc. These scenes mostly take place in the first 45 minutes of the film, but are present throughout.

In a brief scene, a turtle is killed to be cooked in soup. The killing of the animal appears to be real and could be upsetting for those who do not like seeing animal cruelty/violence.

A man strikes Shitou in the forehead causing blood to drip,another man strikes and breaks a teapot on a mans head and during a rescue operation some dogs bark in the distance

An infrequent use of the F-word by various characters'.

The character Cheng Dieyi smokes opium in a few scenes.

A child commits suicide by hanging, and we see his body after.

There is nothing scary or intense in this movie. However, this is a very emotional movie.