“The White Countess” is the final collaboration between director James Ivory and his producer, the late Ismail Merchant. While it is not a classic like “The Remains of the Day,” it is a film perfectly representative of their collaboration — an exquisitely crafted, emotionally distant period piece.

This time, however, the piece is set in pre-World War II Shanghai and the main characters are a blind, disillusioned former U.S. diplomat and a former White Russian countess who is forced to be a taxi dancer and occasional prostitute to support herself, her young daughter and her late husband’s once aristocratic family.

This being a Merchant Ivory production, the American and Russian are played by Brits, with Ralph Fiennes giving another of his delicately measured performances as Todd Jackson and Natasha Richardson combining intelligence, beauty and sensuality along with a flawless Russian accent as Sophia Belinsky.

The pair meet at a Shanghai nightclub where she prevents him from getting rolled by a couple of thieves. He finds her again after he has wagered much of his life savings on a horse race and won, giving him the cash to pursue his dream of creating the perfect swanky nightspot.

Jackson wants her to serve as his club’s hostess and names the place after her — The White Countess. But, seemingly protecting himself from further damage, he keeps her at arm’s length, declaring that their relationship be confined to what happens inside the club.

In Shanghai of the late 1930s, that distance is impossible to keep, however, as world events close in on the couple. Helping that process is Mr. Matsuda (Hiroyuki Sanada), a mysterious Japanese businessman who shares Jackson’s enthusiasm for the nightlife and helps recruit the mix of communists, nationalists and foreigners that make the club come alive.

With its pre-World War II setting and distant romance, “The White Countess” is more than a little reminiscent of “Casablanca.”

But Jackson’s withdrawal into himself and Sophia’s nervous caution make the film feel more like “The Remains of the Day,” which was also written by Kazuo Ishiguro.

That distance and the deliberation in filling out the stories of the characters and their lives make “The White Countess” slow moving, even for a Merchant Ivory picture. But when it makes its delayed emotional connection in its final 45 minutes, the picture has plenty of intense dramatic power.

As always, the film is beautifully crafted, from the cinematography through the sets and costumes. It is also near perfectly cast, including Vannessa and Lynn Redgrave playing the Countess’s disapproving, overly formal in-laws. Significantly, this is the first time the sisters have acted together in a film.

With its themes, exquisite production and even its emotional distance, “The White Countess” is a fitting final film from the Merchant Ivory collaboration.

Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.