FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI // Bargain Bin Film School

1662 Broadway Boulevard,Kansas City MO 64108

18 February, 2023

Description

dir: Hou Hsiao-hsien- 1998 - 1 hr 43 min An intoxicating, time-bending experience bathed in the golden glow of oil lamps and wreathed in an opium haze, Hou Hsiao-hsien’s gorgeous period reverie traces the romantic intrigue, jealousies, and tensions swirling around a late 19th century Shanghai brothel, where the courtesans live confined to a gilded cage, ensconced in opulent splendor yet forced to work to buy back their freedom. Among the regular clients is the taciturn Master Wang (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), whose relationship with his longtime mistress (Michiko Hada) is roiled by a perceived act of betrayal. Composed in a procession of entrancing long takes, Flowers of Shanghai evokes a vanished world of decadence and cruelty, an insular universe where much of the dramatic action remains tantalizingly offscreen—even as its emotional fallout registers with quiet devastation. Bargain Bin Film School is the only non-accredited film school in the greater Kansas City Area taught by someone who's only taken ONE film class in college. Each month BBFS looks at a heralded or overlooked classic of world cinema, but this time with less film bros ad more fun.