I really wish I liked this movie because it's one of the major works of well regarded Tawainese director Hou Hsiao-hsien. But for me, I think I was less than stimulated by the overall film. I think I am fine with the extreme long takes (only 40 shots in the 2 hour film!) but there just wasn't anything interesting about the overall dialogues. I could hardly see the emotional expression of the characters which made me feel removed from the movie. Most of the relevant drama happened off-screen which made most of the movie a little dull. A large part about the movie was just men playing drinking game, which wasn't particularly interesting at all. The music was mostly the same throughout, which is what I think was also bothering me. I appreciated the overall atmosphere of the movie and I have to say the overall set design felt like it was a great period film. The relationships portrayed in the film were interesting as the girl seemed like a bit of higher status than the prostitutes that we picture in our head, as they are forming real relationships with their patrons. I really wish I had more good things about to say about this film but as of now, I am running out. I think my brain is a little too modern and scattered to fully appreciate films like this, unfortunately.
Review of Flowers of Shanghai
