Set in 1884 Shanghai, the film revolves around the life of four courtesans working and living at a brothel as they deal with regular clients and a decadent lifestyle as they’re all eager to leave this brothel. It is a film that doesn’t have much of a structure as it mainly focuses on the many things that goes on at a brothel from dinners with a lot of drinks, food, and smoking opium with a courtesan. Yet, Chu Tien Wen’s screenplay is loose as it plays more into the individual lives of these courtesans and some of the rich clients they’re with as there’s no sexual activity shown but rather conversations with these women wanting to leave this whole business and start a new life outside of the brothel. The first act essentially serves as an introduction to four of these women who all work in different enclaves such as Crimson (Michiko Hada), Jasmin (Vicky Wei), Emerald (Michelle Reis), and Pearl (Carina Lau) who all endure their own drama with Crimson and Jasmin being rivals for the affections of Master Wang (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) who leaves the older Crimson in favor of the younger Jasmin who works at a different enclave as do Emerald and Pearl who deal with other men and such.
Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s direction is definitely stylish in terms of his approach to telling the story as it is set entirely inside a room whether it’s in a dining room or a room for one of the courtesans as it is shot entirely in studio soundstages. Hsiao-Hsien’s direction also play into a period of time where the dialect of Shanghainese is prominent while there are also a role of gender politics that play throughout. Hsiao-Hsien’s approach to compositions is straightforward yet he never uses any close-ups nor does he zoom in or out to get something. Instead, Hsiao-Hsien places the camera into a medium-wide shot to get coverage of the room where he maintains an intimacy but would pan at times on whoever is talking. This approach would allow Hsiao-Hsien to have the camera gaze around with a lot of long shots that occur throughout as it play into the drama. There are a few moments where a character would look at an object of something as there’s only 38 shots in a film with a 113-minute running time. It is an approach that is hypnotic though it is a flawed style as it does make the film’s pacing a bit sluggish though it works due to the setting and how it play into the drama. Overall, Hsiao-Hsien crafts a rapturous yet somber film about the lives of courtesans at a late 19th century brothel in Shanghai.
Cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-Bing does phenomenal work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of available and low-key lighting to help play into the dream-like look of the rooms as it is a highlight of the film. Editor Liao Ching-Sung does nice work with the editing as it is largely fade-to-black cuts that help play into the somewhat episodic-tone of the film. Production designer Hwarng Wern-Ying and co-art director Tsao Chih-Wei do brilliant work with the look of the rooms as well as the dining hall to play into its intimacy as well as allowing its courtesans to showcase their personalities in the room. The sound work of Tu Duu-Chih is excellent for its natural approach to the sound as it is largely straightforward to capture the conversations as well as music that is played on location. The film’s music by Yoshihiro Hanno is amazing for its usage of traditional Chinese instrumentation in the string arrangements as well as some somber orchestral pieces that play into the drama as it is a highlight of the film.
The film’s superb ensemble cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from Hsu Ming as Master Tao, Annie Shizuka Inoh as a young courtesan in Golden Flower, Luo Tsai-Erh as an elder client in Master Hong who helps Pearl in some business dealings involving another courtesan and a young master, Hsuan Fang as a young courtesan in Jade who is in love with a young client, Simon Chang as a young master in Zhu Shuren who is in love with Jade, Jack Kao as Master Luo who helps Emerald in gaining her freedom, and Rebecca Pan in a fantastic performance as Auntie Huang as a brothel madam who runs the enclave that Jade and Pearl work at. Vicky Wei is excellent as Jasmin as a young courtesan from the East Hexing enclave who has become popular as she’s also wooed Master Wang in the hopes that he becomes her husband after his falling out with Crimson.
Michelle Reis is brilliant as Emerald as the courtesan from Shangren enclave who was brought in as a child where she yearns to be free as she finds a man who isn’t just willing to help her be free but also give her something more. Carina Lau is amazing as the courtesan Pearl who works at the Gongyang enclave with Jade and Auntie Huang as someone who acts more like a businesswoman than a typical courtesan while she would also play a key role in dealing with young courtesans. Michiko Hada is incredible as Crimson from the Huifang enclave as a courtesan who once the lover of Master Wang yet is dealing with competition from Jasmin as well as dwindling business where she would spend time doing other things that would eventually upset Master Wang. Finally, there’s Tony Leung Chiu-Wai in a phenomenal performance as Master Wang as a quiet man of wealth who has ended his affair with Crimson in favor of the younger and more popular Jasmin where he deals with what he wants but also feeling like he owes Crimson something as a way to clear her debt where he finds himself confused and angry over not just Crimson’s other activities but also revelations about Jasmin herself.
Hai Shang Hua is a sensational film from Hou Hsiao-Hsien. Featuring a great ensemble cast, intoxicating visuals, a loose yet simple premise, and a hypnotic music score. The film is definitely an unconventional yet engaging look into the life of courtesans in late 19th Century Shanghai as they deal with having to please wealthy men and yearning to be free from their decadent world. In the end, Hai Shang Hua is a phenomenal film from Hou Hsiao-Hsien.
Hou Hsiao-Hsien Films: (Cute Girls) – (Cheerful Wind) – (The Green, Green Grass of Home) – (The Sandwich Man) – (The Boys of Fengkuei) – (A Summer at Grandpa’s) – (The Time to Live and the Time to Die) – (Dust in the Wind) – (Daughter of the Nile) – (A City of Sadness) – (The Puppetmaster) – (Good Men, Good Women) – (Goodbye South, Goodbye) – (Millennium Mambo) – (Café Lumiere) – (Three Times) – Flight of the Red Balloon - To Each His Own Cinema-The Electric Princess Picture House - (The Assassin (2015 film))
© thevoid99 2022
The revolves around a couple who move to an expensive apartment in Taipei as a former baseball player returns from America with little prospect of a future while his girlfriend struggles to find work after resigning from her job as she is eager to move to America. It’s a film that explores a couple whose relationship begins to disintegrate amongst a growing sense of major changes in and around Taipei as the woman wants to be part of this new world though her boyfriend struggles to make ends meet as he works for his family’s textile business which is going through issues while coping with his own failures as a once-promising baseball player. The film’s screenplay by Edward Yang, Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Chu Tien-wen is largely straightforward in explore the lives of the office worker Chin (Tsai Chin) and her boyfriend Lung (Hou Hsiao-hsien) as they both diverge into paths of their own as it play into what they want but also the struggles of achieving that goal. Chin was working in an office until she resigned over issues in a failing business as she still wants to socialize with people who work in the same field including her boss Mr. Ke (Ke I-cheng) who has feelings for her.
Lung learns that a former baseball player in Ch’en (Wu Nien-jen) has become a taxi driver and is also going through his struggles after doing military service with a wife that is often neglectful towards their children in favor of gambling. Lung also tries to maintain work in his family’s textile business despite the fact that his mother and sister both live in America as he constantly has to talk to his brother-in-law. Adding to his troubles is Chin’s estranged father (Wu Ping-nan) who has been in some serious financial troubles where Lung wants to help him despite the fact that Chin implores that he doesn’t as it would threaten their plans to go to America.
Yang’s direction does have elements of style as much of the film’s compositions are straightforward as it aims for some realism in its visuals. Shot on actual location in Taipei, Taiwan, the city itself is a character in the film as it plays up this representation of a world that is becoming vibrant and being part of a bigger world that it’s caught up on. A world that Chin wants to be in as it includes a scene of her hanging with her younger sister Ling (Lin Hsiu-ling) at a club and later on a nighttime ride through the city with its vibrant lights. The usage of wide and medium shots doesn’t just play into the scope of the city and its locations in and out of the city but also to display this growing schism between Chin and Lung as the latter is often seen in smaller and claustrophobic locations as well as places that are often in decay as he tends to feel awkward during a scene where he’s with Chin and her friends. Notably as one of them would harass Lung about his failed baseball career leading to a fight as Yang doesn’t feature a lot of close-ups in his films except in certain bits as it plays into the uncertainty into Lung and Chin’s disintegrating relationship.
Yang also play into this dramatic subplot that involves Lung and Chin’s father as it plays into Lung’s need to help people as there’s a scene late in the film where the two are having a drink as Chin’s father is talking about what the city used to be and what it has become now. It adds to Lung’s clinging to the past as he faces this uncertainty but also this feeling of failure as he had a lot of promise as a baseball player but failed to live up to expectations in the big leagues. Chin’s frustrations over Lung’s lack of progress to change anything as well as a visit from a former flame in Gwan (Ke Su-yun) that would play into their schism. Also serving as the film’s music composer with cello performances from Yo-Yo Ma, Yang’s score is somber as it adds to the drama with its lush orchestral arrangements and Ma’s cello just adding that sense of uncertainty for both Lung and Chin. Overall, Yang crafts a compelling and evocative film about a couple living in Taipei as they start to disintegrate over ideas of modernism and tradition.
Cinematographer Yang Wei-han does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on natural lighting including for many of the interior scenes where the usage of low-level lights for the nighttime scenes add to the air of realism as well as the vibrant exterior scenes at night. Editors Wang Chi-yang and Sung Fan-chen do excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward to play into the drama as well as a few moments of humor in the film. Production designer Tsai Cheng-pin does fantastic work with the look of the apartment Chin and Lung live in to play into this clash of their ideals along with the places they go to. Costume designer Chen Chih-chan does terrific work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward from the fashionable look of Chin to the more casual look of Lung. The sound work of Tu Tu-chih is superb as it play into the atmosphere of the locations that include a club where Ling takes Chin to and a bar where Lung almost gets into a fight as the music soundtrack features pieces from Lionel Richie, Kenny Loggins, Michael Jackson, and Tina Turner.
The film’s incredible cast feature some notable small roles from Lai Te-nan as an old baseball coach of Lung, Chen Shu-fang as an executive who wants to give a job to Chin, Ke I-cheng as an executive Chin worked for as he pines for her, Yang Li-yin as Ch’en’s wife who neglects her children in favor of gambling, Mei Fang as Chin’s mother, Wu Ping-nan as Chin’s estranged father whose financial troubles forces Lung to help him, Ke Su-yun as a former flame of Lung in Gwan who was also a childhood friend of Chin, Lin Hsiu-ling as Chin’s younger sister Ling who has an interest in American and Japanese culture, and Wu Nien-jen as Ch’en as a former baseball player turned cab driver who tries to help Lung find more work as they lament over their failures to become professional baseball players.
Finally, there’s the duo of Tsai Chin and Hou Hsiao-hsien in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as Chin and Lung. Hsiao-hsien provides this low-key yet somber performance as a man who feels like he’s lost as he tries to help out Chin’s estranged father and Ch’en but also lamenting over the fact that he could’ve been someone special in baseball. Chin’s performance is also reserved as a woman struggling to find a job as well as be part of this new Taiwan as well as a desire to go to America yet Chin also provides this frustration and anguish of a woman that wants to be a part of something instead of being out of step with the times like Lung as Chin and Hsiao-hsien also have this great rapport together in playing up this schism that is growing between their characters.
Taipei Story is a sensational film from Edward Yang that features great performances from Tsai Chin and Hou Hsiao-hsien. Along with its ensemble cast, themes of tradition vs. modernism, Yang’s lush music score with Yo-Yo Ma’s cello performances, and its ravishing visuals. The film is a captivating drama that explores a couple coming apart over changes and this need to conform to society with one of them unable to due to old values that he holds dearly. In the end, Taipei Story is a spectacular film from Edward Yang.
Edward Yang Films: (In Our Time-Desires/Expectations) – (That Day, on the Beach) – (The Terrorizers) – A Brighter Summer Day - (A Confucian Confusion) – (Mahjong) – Yi Yi
© thevoid99 2021
Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/5/09 w/ Additional Edits.
Directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien with a script written by Hsiao-Hsien and Francois Margolin, Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge tells the story of a young boy and his new Taiwanese film student/nanny who are enamored with the image of a red balloon. While the boy's mother is preoccupied with her work and squabbles with a neighbor, the boy and nanny find escape into the red balloon they see. Based on the 1956 short film Le Ballon Rouge (The Red Balloon) by Albert Lamorisse, the film is a tribute to Lamorisse's beloved short. Starring Juliette Binoche, Simon Iteanu, Fang Song, Hippolyte Girardot, and Louise Margolin. Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge is a good yet fascinating film from Hou Hsiao-Hsien.
Simon (Simon Iteanu) is walking around Paris as he's enchanted by a red balloon in the trees that flies around the city. A young Taiwanese film student named Song (Fang Song) is hired to be the new nanny for Simon as his mother Suzanne (Juliette Binoche) is running a puppet theater that is about to feature a Chinese play where she will perform all the voices. Yet, Suzanne is also dealing with her estranged ex-husband while her daughter Louise (Louise Margolin) is still in Brussels. The harried Suzanne is also having squabbles with her neighbor Marc (Hippolyte Girardot) who has been using her kitchen and things without her permission. With he and his girlfriend living in an apartment that used to belong with her mother, Suzanne is not happy about the living situation.
With Song taking care of Simon for Suzanne, Song and Simon bond over the red balloon they've been seeing as Song mentions the short film Le Ballon Rouge that she was inspired by for her short about red balloons. With Simon's help, they create a short with her hand-held digital camera. While Suzanne often comes home where a family between her, Song, and Simon is created, she is awaiting for Louise to return to Paris for her studies. Talking to a lawyer, she hopes to get rid of Marc but her ex-husband instead wants to make trouble for her as she's comforted by Simon and Song. Especially when Song transfers old family films into a CD as she is excited to see the short that Song has created while Simon remains mystified by the balloon he has been seeing.
Le Ballon Rouge was a simple thirty-minute film where it just told the story of a boy and the magical red balloon. Remaking that film would be a mistake but a homage to that film is a good idea, but not a great idea. Like Lamorisse's film, there's not much dialogue which can definitely work depending on the length of the film and the strength of the story. The problem that writers Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Francois Margolin does isn't the lack of dialogue but expanding a story that doesn't carry much weight. We have the story of a neglected little boy escaping through the image of a red balloon with help from his Taiwanese nanny who wants to make a short film about the balloon. We also have the story of the mother who is dealing with her occupied life with work, dealing with her ex-husband, and a neighbor/tenant who hadn't been paying his rent and such.
The problem with the film isn't just the fact that there's not much of a plot but there isn't much of a story to really be invested in. While a lot of it is probably due to Hsiao-Hsien's direction, the story tends to meander itself to the point that it loses interest until the balloon reappears to lift up a scene. The scenes involving the balloon is told simply with Hsiao-Hsien's camera as he follows the balloon and its shadow. Yet, it's something that simple and to the point that often carries a sense of interest and wonderment to the film. When the film focuses on the stories of Suzanne and her struggles, it doesn't carry much excitement in comparison to the story about the balloon or the boy's relationship with his nanny. Though the latter doesn't have much depth either but its relationship is still enjoyable to watch because of their interest in the balloon. Despite a lackluster story, Hsiao-Hsien's direction does carry some wonderful, awe-inspiring moments that is purely enjoyable to watch.
Cinematographer Mark Lee Ping Bing with additional work from Yorick Le Saux does create some wonderful shots of Paris in its daytime exteriors while it's the interior shots of Suzanne's apartment that is really enjoyable to watch. With the shading of red-yellow colors with a look of the apartment a mixture of colors, it has a gorgeous look to complement the Chinese play that Suzanne is working on. Editors Jean-Christophe Hym and Ching-Song Liao do some fascinating transition cuts to move one scene to another despite the fact that some shots run a little longer than they intended. Production designer Paul Fayard does excellent work with the film's look of Suzanne's home cropped with books and lots of things to represent her chaotic life. Sound mixer Chu Shih Yi and consultant Jean-Daniel Beccache do excellent work with the location sounds to create the atmosphere of Paris. The film's music is mostly piano-jazz pieces with selections from Le Ballon Rouge.
The casting is definitely inspired with small roles from Anna Sigalevitch as Simon's piano teacher and Louise Margolin as Simon's older sister Louise seen in flashbacks. Hippolyte Girardot is good as Marc, the neighbor who is the brunt of Suzanne's problems as he causes messes in her kitchen and refuses to pay the rent. Fang Song is very good as Song, the nanny and aspiring filmmaker who helps Simon by encouraging in his imagination while learning about the world of Paris. Simon Iteanu is excellent as Simon, the neglected little boy fascinated by the red balloon in which he shares his fascination with his nanny.
Finally, there's Juliette Binoche in an amazing performance as Suzanne. Despite the weakness of the script and lack of story, Binoche's performance is really the highlight of the film as she acts with such charisma and energy. Doing all the voice work in the puppet play scenes, Binoche displays talents that are beyond the capabilities of the average, Hollywood actress. Particularly mixing comedy and drama without going over-the-top or being too restraint. It's a performance that is phenomenal in every scene she's in despite the film's shortcomings.
Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge is a good film from Hou Hsiao-Hsien though fans of his other Asian work might feel a bit disappointed. Fans of Juliette Binoche will be glad to see the actress in another amazing performance that solidifies her as one of cinema's finest actresses. While it's more of a homage to Albert Lamorisse's classic short film Le Ballon Rouge, audiences might want something more though will give Hsiao-Hsien credit for making a worthy tribute. While Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge is a good film with not much to expect, it's more recommended to see Le Ballon Rouge first than Hsiao-Hsien's tribute film.
Hou Hsiao-Hsien Films: (Cute Girls) - (Cheerful Wind) - (The Green, Green Grass of Home) - (The Sandwich Man) - (The Boys from Fengkuei) - (A Summer at Grandpa's) - (A Time to Live, A Time to Die) - (Dust in the Wind) - (Daughter of the Nile) - (A City of Sadness) - (The Puppetmaster) - (Good Men, Good Women) - (Goodbye South, Goodbye) - Flowers of Shanghai - (Millennium Mambo) - (Cafe Lumiere) - (Three Times) - To Each His Own Cinema-The Electric Picture Princess House - (The Assassin (2015 film)
© thevoid99 2013
