Flowers of Shanghai (1998)
- Original title
- 海上花
- Directed by
- Hou Hsiao-Hsien
- Genre
- drama film
- Country
- Taiwan
- Runtime
- 2h 10m
- Rated
- NR
- Rating
- 6.9 of 10 from 114 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
In 1880s Shanghai, wealthy patrons visit high-end brothels where flower girls entertain and form relationships. The film follows these interactions and the subtle social dynamics within the elegant houses.
slow-burncontemplativemelancholicvisually lushintimaterestrainedatmosphericglacial
What happens
Flowers of Shanghai is a 1998 drama film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. It is based on the novel The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai (1892) by Han Bangqing, which was originally written in the Wu language (吳語) and translated into Mandarin Chinese by Eileen Chang. The film stars Tony Leung as a wealthy patron and Michiko Hada, Annie Shizuka Inoh, Shuan Fang, Jack Kao, Carina Lau, Rebecca Pan, Michelle Reis and Vicky Wei as "flower girls" in four high-end Shanghai brothels. It was voted the third best film of the 1990s in the Village Voice Film Poll conducted in 1999. The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or. It was selected as the Taiwanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 71st Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
Rouge of The North (1988)
Wolves Cry Under the Moon (1997)
Once Upon a Time in Shanghai (1998)
Lust, Caution (2007)
The Personals (1998)
Hold You Tight (1998)
The Poet (1998)
A Brighter Summer Day (1991)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.