Flowers of Shanghai
aka Hai shang hua First screened in May 2015 / Most recently screened in November 2024
Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien. Cast: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Michiko Hada, Carina Lau, Michelle Reis, Vicky Wei, Luo Tsai-erh, Jack Kao, Lee Yiu-ming, Rebecca Pan, Fang Hsuan, Simong Chang, Lin Yu-han, Annie Shizuka Inoh. Screenplay: Chu T'ien-wen (based on the novel The Sing-Song Girls of Shanghai by Han Ziyun, as translated into Mandarin by Eileen Chang). In Brief:
Rapturous to ear and eye. Narrative, spatial, social disorientation key to its themes. Magical, if hard work.
VOR:⑤
One of cinema's most luscious artifacts, even as it ironizes beauty and artifacts. Bold experiment at every stage. New reveals on each watch.
