Shanghai Blues
One fateful night in 1937, amidst the bombings of Shanghai, Tung (Kenny Bee), a young soldier, and Shu (Sylvia Chang) find solace under the bridge. In the semi-darkness, though unable to see each other clearly, the young couple experience an immediate attraction towards each other and plan to meet again when the war is over, under the same bridge.
Ten years have passed. Tung awaits his breakthrough as a promising songwriter, while Shu fends for herself as a showgirl in a nightclub. Enter Stool (Sally Yeh), a young girl in search of her relatives. Her efforts prove fruitless until she crosses paths with Shu, who takes Stool into her home. Soon, they form a close, sisterly relationship.
By a twist of fate, Tung moves into the same building as the two women. Stool finds herself falling for Tung. Meanwhile, Shu and Tung are drawn to each other, unaware that they have met under that bridge many years before. Presented in a new 4K restoration.
Cast
- Kenny Bee
- Sylvia Chang
- Sally Yeh
- "It’s old school Hollywood filmmaking—comparisons to Lubitsch or Paul Fejos’s Lonesome are not unwarranted—a bittersweet look at the lunacy of a world turned upside down by decades of war and chaos. Chang’s melancholy and soulful performance is the film’s heart, the core around which Yeh and Bee’s crazier antics swirl."
- "Luscious, loving and a lot of fun, the lively romantic comedy Shanghai Blues is one of Tsui Hark’s most enjoyable works."
- "A typically colourful, good-natured and silly romp from director-producer-legend Tsui Hark, this historical-romantic-slapstick comedy takes a time-honoured romantic storyline and spins it into a lot of daft complications. [A]s always with this tireless filmmaker, the pace never lets up and the screen is constantly awhirl with colourful movement, while the actors snap their lines out in a manner reminiscent of American pre-code cinema."
- "[I]t succeeds in conjuring up the exuberance and energy that the very best MGM musicals could offer. "
- "Far superior to any Hollywood attempts at this genre in the last 20 years, this delicate, touching and often hilarious little film deserves to be known to a wider audience. Fresh in its cheerful attitude and exhilarating in its execution, Shanghai Blues is a shining example of the exciting skill of its director...."
- "Textually an absolutely endearing post-war comedy, Shanghai Blues’ subtextually says a lot about diaspora, inequality, and misogyny embedded into society, doing so with a thick comedic veneer which makes this film quite frankly one of Hark’s very best films."
- "[A]n almost perfect blend of splendid production values, a handful of subtle visual effects and situation comedy."
Gallery
Awards & Recognition
8 Awards Inc. Best Picture, Director, Actress
Hong Kong Film Awards
Cannes Classics
Cannes Film Festival
New York Asian Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
Toronto Int'l. Film Festival
Chicago Int'l. Film Festival
Berlin Int'l. Film Festival
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