4K Restoration from the 35mm original negative of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI Streaming in Film Forum's Virtual Cinema: Repertory Program Starting November 20th

4K Restoration from the 35mm original negative of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI Streaming in Film Forum's Virtual Cinema: Repertory Program Starting November 20th

Bathed in the golden glow of oil lamps and wreathed in an opium haze, Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI (1998, 113 minutes) traces the romantic intrigues, jealousies, and tensions swirling around a 19th century Shanghai brothel, where the courtesans are ensconced in opulent splendor, yet forced to work to buy back their freedom. Among the regular clients is Tony Leung Chiu-wai's taciturn Master Wang, whose relationship with longtime mistress Michiko Hada is agitated by a perceived act of betrayal. Composed in a procession of long takes, FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI evokes a vanished world of decadence and cruelty, an insular universe where much of the action remains tantalizingly offscreen.

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