“Tsui (Hark) is one of the most imaginative stylists in contemporary cinema” — David Bordwell, Planet Hong Kong
There is sadness to all the fun in Shanghai Blues. The film is so eager to whoop and gambol it seems director Tsui Hark is serving his audience a stiff drink to help them forget their pain. A story of little people caught in epic times, characters meet in war, fall in love, become separated, reunite afterwards, only to find themselves caught in conflicting emotions and loyalties.
The film is crammed with high-octane entertainment, enough to easily fuel three features. Songs, jokes, sight gags, dynamic action and adolescent innuendos galore. Setting the stage in the former of Shanghai is a loaded attempt to connect Hong Kong to its past and future. Tsui’s newest adventure, The Taking of Tiger Mountain, is the closing film for this year’s festival.
