SHANGHAI BLUES © Film Workshop
Shanghai Blues, Tsui Hark’s Romantic Interlude
Well-known for the diversity of genres in his prolific filmography, Hong Kong director Tsui Hark takes to Cannes Classics with Shanghai Blues, his endearing romantic comedy restored for the film’s 40th anniversary.
His style, always inspired by the ambition of pushing back the boundaries of the 7th Art, has positioned Tsui Hark as one of the most influential directors in Hong Kong cinema. He was a key figure in the Asian new wave of the 1980s, defying the conventions and restrictions of censorship with films such as Butterfly Murders (1979) and Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind (1980).
In 1984, the filmmaker co-founded Film Workshop, a production company that opened the door not only to independence, but also to commercial success, Shanghai Blues being one of the first. In this film, Tsui Hark weaves an irresistible boulevard comedy that does not shy away from the good feelings typical of Hong Kong cinema.
The film begins in 1937, during an air raid by Japanese forces in Shanghai, when a soldier called Tung (Kenny Bee) and a young woman, Shu (Sylvia Chang) meet under a dark bridge. The two vow to meet again at the end of the war. Ten years later, they unknowingly move into the same building and fall in love without recognising each other through a series of twists of fate.
A Film Workshop presentation to mark the company’s 40th anniversary. 4K restoration of the original negative supervised by Tsui Hark and Nansun Shi, in collaboration with L’Immagine Ritrovata, soundtrack remixed by One Cool Sound.
In the presence of actress Sylvia Chang.
