Rating: 
Summary: Believe The HHH Hype! - A Formal Masterpiece!
Review: I can't think of a single film I've seen with less editing. I take that back; Andy Warhol's early b&w films definitely have far fewer cuts (and yes, I know, I know, Warhol didn't really direct most of them). Warhol is probably a good reference point, actually. In "Flowers of Shanghai" the camera moves back and forth somewhat within a scene, but never really forward or backward. Additionally, as in those Warhol films, there is almost literally no editing within each scene. A sequence starts, and the camera may continue its gaze uninterrupted for eight minutes or more until the scene comes to its own logical end. I read somewhere that there are a total of only 37 shots in this film, and that seems pretty believable. This style can very easily bore a viewer to death. On the other hand, it can be really mind-blowing. If nothing else, its unusual. It conveys a sense of calm and even stasis, but also belies a foreboding dread. Janet Maslin of the NY Times speaks of Hou Hsiao-Hsien's films as filmed "with a streamlined ordinariness that amounts to a kind of eloquence." "Flowers of Shanghai" is certainly a perfect example of this. At the same time, "Flowers of Shanghai" avoids the manipulation pretty much inherent to film and video - the viewer is not guided by the camera or the editing almost at all, and is therefore forced to take an unusually active role in his or her film experience. This is not to say that we are dealing with a cold, totally hands-off approach to film direction, of course. The music, sets, lighting, camera position, screenwriting, etc. all have an effect on the viewer (I'll let the word 'suture' slip). All the same, this is an extremely subtle narrative style, a minimal style even. I call it minimal because director Hou Hsiao-Hsien uses so little variation in each of these narrative devices. Take the sets for example. There are no exterior shots at all in this film. In fact, I only noted only one scene in which I could discern any daylight at all. The film is made up entirely of scenes set inside the tight and always poorly-lit chambers of "Flowerhouse" brothels of 19th Century Shanghai. Such consistency adds an almost tangible claustrophobia to the already omnipresent feeling of stasis I mentioned earlier. It also lends the film a sense of the everyday (in the sense that Paul Schrader uses the term). I found this really very brilliant and efficient film-making. Placing every scene in one or a few locations is a device not uncommon to theater, but one fairly unusual to film. The Flowerhouse becomes for the viewer a true microcosm, which affords the viewer uninterrupted focus (tunnel-vision even) while, at the same time, prodding the viewer's curiosity about what goes on outside. Watching "Flowers of Shanghai", I couldn't stop wondering just what all the men in this film do when they aren't patronizing the brothel? Where do they come by their money? Do they have families? Hobbies? It really isn't addressed, and isn't important to the film either. So long as the viewer is aware that the characters must do *something* else during the day (and Hou Hsiao-Hsien makes sure of this), it is unnecessary to show exactly what that something is. Outside of formal considerations the film still has a lot going for it. The plot, though relatively low on drama and entirely devoid of histrionics, is engrossing. In brief, the story is driven by the nuances of the close relationships of the wealthy men and the "Flower" girls within this insular community. This aspect reminded me in many ways of Mikio Naruse's (excellent) film, "When a Woman Ascends the Stairs." Like that film, "Flowers of Shanghai" looks at these relationships both in economic and in what can only be desctibed as familial terms. Going far beyond the clear issues of gender, probably the most interesting part of the story is its portrait of the friendships, rivalries, jealousies, obligations, and manipulations just within the 'family' of girls living together in the Flowerhouse, and how these interactions effect the larger 'family' that includes their male patrons. "Flowers of Shanghai" is a clear formal masterpiece, and manages to tell a fascinating story at the same time. Certified genius Philip Lopate (who also often writes for the NY Times) calls the film "one of the cinematic highpoints of the 90's." The film-fest pass-holder hype surrounding Hou Hsiao-Hsien is well-founded. But be warned that the same stylistic handling that drives me to cry 'masterpiece' will leave some crying of boredom.
Rating: 
Summary: BORING...
Review: I love asian films but this is one of the most boring movie made. Throughout the whole movie, i couldnt even see anyones face and I felt like falling asleep.
Rating: 
Summary: beautiful movie, lousy transfer for the dvd
Review: i loved this movie in the theater--just really beautifully shot. But the color on the dvd is all washed out, with an overwhelming yellow tone to it that I don't remember. It's possible I'm just not remembering the original correctly, but I don't think that's the case. It might be worth asking the folks at your local video store to pop it in their player for a minute so you can see for yourself before you decide to pick it up.
Rating: 
Summary: Glimpse into Chinese culture
Review: I was absorbed in this film because of my fascination with cultures different from my own. We see a small portion of Chinese culture in the late 1800s...the interior scenes of a Shanghai brothel with its "flower" ladies. I studied the clothing, the hair styles, the mannerisms, the interactions between men and women, modes of expressing feelings, the household decor...and learned from it. This is not a fast-paced movie; no intimate acts are portrayed, in fact, I found it to have a languid feeling, with a lot of time spent with the men and women eating, gossiping, manipulating one another, smoking opium, and repeatedly playing a favorite game that looks like "paper, scissors, rock". Yet I found this glimpse into this portion of society fascinating...women who probably lived a pampered and sheltered life compared to the masses of Chinese women at the time, yet hoping for someone to love and rescue them from their form of slavery, and upper class Chinese men who seem to have nothing else to do but hang out with the flower ladies, and chum with other male clients. I was interested in their social courtesies, the emotional maneuvering of the women upon the men, and the tenderness shown by one of the Chinese men towards his "flower lady", contradictory to the idea of Chinese women being subservient. Because this movie was made in China, I assume the sociology of the movie must have some accuracy, and therefore, it was for me a cultural lesson.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing happens in this fancy period piece.
Review: I was very looking forward to seeing this movie, and I'd bought advance ticket to see it a the VIFF in 98, because it was the first film from Carina Lau since her award-winning film Intimates(Self-Combed). I thought it was going to be her new career high point, but as it turned out, it was just a mediocre "group-scene" movie done like a documentary. Not much great acting was generated from the all-star cast from HK, Taiwan, and Japan. I was quite disappointed.
It was very beautiful visually, because they had done a lot of work to the set, costumes and lighting. I found it very hard to follow this film, because most of the actors delivered their lines in Shanghainese, and only Tony Leung spoke some Cantonese for his part. Most of the characters just sit around and smoke pipe and drink tea and wine throughout the movie. There was hardly enough drama to stimulate the viewers. Carina Lau did her best with the way she smoked and poured the tea to her clients, but nothing serious happens that would require her to give more than two or three expressions. I really thought it was wasted her time to be in this movie, considered that she's been in 50 movies and done parts that are so much more challenging than this one.
Anyways, you have to be totally interested in old-world Chinese cultures in order to be amused by this movie.
Rating:
Summary: For the YOIDYS outthere....
Review: If you read the review from Yoidy and if you were looking for a skin fest in this movie, you'd be giving a 1 star, too. :) This one is your basic Asian Art House movie. Even to an Asian like me, it can be boring and slow from time to time. The brothel scene and the characters depicted in the movie were very close to what was happening at that time. If you read the book "Memoirs of a Geisha", the relationships and mannerisms depicted in this movie are very similar to the Japanese counterpart. High price hookers were always prized commodities among the bored whealthies and the second-generation masters. How the ladies secure their 'supporters/admirers' and accumulate money and connections are the main subject matters in this movie. So if you were into subtle emotional and gestural exchanges, opulent period pieces, languid pacing, and art house films, you'd enjoy this one. But for the Yoidys out there, don't bother. :)
Rating: 
Summary: Can I get a refund?
Review: My only advise on this movie will be plea for an advise: can you please advise whether it's worth to return "Flowers of Shanghai" to Barnes & Noble (where I bought it at) and to expect a full or a partial refund or an exchange to another movie? I fast-forwarded through this movie and I would feel best served by it if I could get my money back... This movie is really boring to death, well, unless you're trying to practice your Chinese skills. So here's your One Star - Winstar.
Rating:
Summary: Just not interesting enough to keep me awake
Review: The 1998 Chinese film is set in a 1880s brothel. The "flowers" are the young women who have been raised since childhood for their profession. Competition for the gentlemen goes on all the time as each woman hopes to become a "second wife" to a rich man. The men also wonder if the love these women profess is real.
Like many Chinese movies, the pacing is slow and stylized. Sometimes I can enjoy a film like this but this particular story was just not interesting enough to keep me awake, the cinematography used too many shadows and the acting never engaged me. After about an hour, I shut it off and couldn't bear to go back to it the next day. You won't miss anything if you skip this one. Not recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Impressionistic & lovely - feels like an opium haze...
Review: The films that I've seen by Hou Hsiao-hsien have all been "difficult" in the sense that their rewards were not there on the surface level. They employ exceptionally long shots, are in a foreign language, have little overt action, and the dialogue tends to be more about day to day concerns than about plot advancement. Nonetheless, I continue to be driven to see his films, since upon reflection or subsequent viewings I feel that I didn't just see an average film, but that I was transported into another world (I realize this is a huge cliche, but I can think of no other director that evokes this feeling so well.) Flowers of Shanghai probably isn't Hou's best film, (I'd have to say "The Puppetmaster" would qualify there) but perhaps it is his prettiest. The film is set exclusively in a turn of the century Taiwanese brothel. The narrative set before us is sketchy (mostly it has to deal with prostitutes dueling over the same rich client) but the detail of the environment is unsurpassed. We see the characters as they gossip about each other, discuss their finances, and talk about the needs of the courtesans. No scenes take place outside of the brothel, so by the end of the film, we feel we have more of an understanding of the brothel's function in that society. The acting is great, though you'd be hard pressed to pick the professional actors from the non-actors. Hou's style is consistent with most of his work in that we get extremely long shots. In this film, Hou pans almost constantly, always finding something else to look at in the shot. The costuming and art direction are so good that you forget that they have been fabricated to make a film. Basically, everything feels authentic here. By focusing on a small faction of a society, Hou manages to get everything right. The film is a small wonder, and is highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely Film
Review: This is a beautiful film with rich characters, beautiful sets and costumes and exquisite cinematography. Warning, though, its a film that focuses on exploration of character by showing vignettes from the lives of chinese prostitutes living in Shanghai in the late 19th century. There is very little "plot" so if you're looking for fast paced excitement you might not like it.
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