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Flowers of Shanghai

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Flowers of Shanghai
Directed byHsiao-hsien Hou
Written byT'ien-wen Chu,
Eileen Cheng(translation),
Bangqing Han (novel)
Produced byShozo Ichiyama,
Teng-Kuei Yang
StarringShuan Fang,
Michiko Hada,
Annie Shizuka Inoh,
Jack Kao
CinematographyPin Bing Lee
Edited byChing-Song Liao
Music byYoshihiro Hanno,
Du-Che Tu
Release date
Taiwan 1998
Running time
130 minutes
CountryTemplate:FilmTaiwan
LanguagesCantonese, Shanghainese

Flowers of Shanghai (海上花, pinyin: hāi shàng huā) is a 1998 film directed by Guangdong-born Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien starring Fang Shuan, Hada Michiko, Annie Shizuka Inoh, Jack Kao, Carina Lau, Tony Leung, Rebecca Pan, Michelle Reis and Vicky Wei.

Plot

In four elegant brothels (called "Flower Houses") in fin-de-siècle 19th Century (Qing dynasty) Shanghai, several affairs are described. The action involves four drunkards, and takes place mostly only in the dark yellow of the candle light. Preparation and consumption of opium and tea are located in the center of the business concern. Intertitles clear up that Crimson is in Huifang, Pearl is in Gongyang, Emerald is in Shangren and Jasmine is in East Hexing. The relations of the rich gentlemen with the courtesans is partly monogamous and has obligations of many years. The life of the graceful, well-bred girls, who were young when bought, resembles in certain respects a life of slavery. The oppressing social conventions because of they dream to pay their debts off to marry itself or into the freedom and higher conditions. The silent master Wang leaves the courtesan Crimson in favor of Jasmine, for which it was within only 10 days of a fire and flame after (allegedly) 2 ½ years. He offers to settle Crimson's debts. Wang sees himself in repeated connections and between hardening fronts. Dependence turn out as reciprocal. Crimson has only master Wang as a customer, and must from his money feed her entire family. Emerald was worth 100 dollars as a child once. Master Luo wants to redeem. The prostitute Silver Phoenix is abused by her drawing mother. Master Wang has a drunken rage accumulation, when he finds out that Crimson foreign goes. A contract over Emerald is put on, and a notary comes to log the inventory. Allegedly Wang strikes Jasmine, who then commits allegedly an attempted suicide. Jade tries to poison her customer, with whom she had sworn herself eternal love. For one arranges thereupon a marriage. Crimson for master Wang at last prepares an opium pipe in quiet couplehood.

Cast

Actor Role
Shuan Fang Jade
Michiko Hada Crimson
An-an Hsu
Annie Yi Golden Flower
Jack Kao Luo
Carina Lau Pearl
Tony Leung Chiu-wai Wang
Firebird Lu Vagabond #2
Rebecca Pan Huang
Michelle Reis Emerald
Vicky Wei Jasmin

Criticism

Jeffrey Anderson finds the film incredibly beautiful despite the need for "multiple viewings and incredible patience."[1] Mark R. Leeper on the other hand found the film "static and dull,"[2] while others have called it "borderline comatose."[3]

While Jeremy Heilman didn't want to call it Hou's best film, he certainly considered it his prettiest.[4] Kent Jones found it innovative.[5]

Awards

The film won for Best Director and Best Art Director (Wen-Ying Huang) at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival in 1998, and the next year the director won the Golden Crow Pheasant at the Kerala International Film Festival. It was nominated for the Golden Palm at Cannes but did not win.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Jeffrey M. Anderson. "Flowers of Shanghai (1998)". Combustible Celluloid. Retrieved 28 September 2008. multiple viewings and incredible patience are necessary. […] Each scene seems to be lit entirely by candles and oil lamps […] Even though we never leave the brothel, there is never any hint of sex or even passion […] A single strain of music is repeated over and over throughout the film […] I cannot stress enough the incredible beauty of this movie
  2. ^ Mark R. Leeper (1998). "Hai shang hua (1998)". rec.arts.movies.reviews. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 28 September 2008. Static and dull story set in Shanghai brothels of the 1880s. The camerawork of this film is minimal and we basically have a stage play in which almost all of the action is offstage. […] Very downbeat. […] Only two scenes have any action beyond talk
  3. ^ "Flowers of Shanghai". Lovehkfilm.com. Lovehkfilm.com. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
  4. ^ Jeremy Heilman (2001). "Flowers of Shanghai (Hou Hsiao-hsien) 1997". http://www.moviemartyr.com. Retrieved 28 September 2008. I feel […] that I was transported into another world (I realize this is a huge cliché, but I can think of no other director that evokes this feeling so well.) Flowers of Shanghai probably isn't Hou's best film, […] but perhaps it is his prettiest. […] highly recommended {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help); Unknown parameter |datum-monat= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Kent Jones (1999). "Cinema With a Roof Over its Head". Film Comment. Retrieved 27 September 2008. space at times feels as if it could spring into any direction. […] It's something new in cinema
  6. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Flowers of Shanghai". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
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