FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI (Taiwan/Japanese, in Chinese with subtitles) A review by Mark R. Leeper in bullet-list form from the Toronto Internation Film Festival
CAPSULE: 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. Nice historic recreations of room decor cannot make this film interesting to audiences. Rating: 3 (0 to 10) -1 (-4 to +4)
- Directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien. - 124 minutes, but seems a lot longer. - Film constructed of long sequences set in beautifully appointed rooms. Long pauses between dialog. Camera just shifts to the character speaking so whole scene appears shot in one take. - 1880s Shanghai brothels. Character names like Crimson and Jade. To Western eyes may be hard to tell major characters apart. - Music sounds like done on one-string instrument. Very downbeat. - Early scenes in heavy sepia tone though later ones seem to use more natural colors. - Characters seem to be forever eating, drinking tea, smoking, and gossiping. - Every scene ends in slow fade to black. - Only two scenes have any action beyond talk. - Very much like a stage play. - Some sort of numbers game repeatedly played over banquets, but not clear what the rules are. It looks something like our Evens and Odds. - Women seem to be involved with little but jealousy, hatred, and greed. - Style reminiscent of Fassbinder's EFFIE BRIEST. - Shown in a large theater, but many people walking out. - Better knowledge of Chinese culture might have helped.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
Copyright 1998 Mark R. Leeper
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