Flowers of Shanghai
Sep 25, 2005
(Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan, 1998, 35mm, 130 min.)
Print courtesy of Wellspring Films.
A great six weeks at NWFF was undoubtedly our Hou Hsiao-hsien retrospective in 2000. Kicking off the series was the Seattle premiere of FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI, which takes place in a luxurious 19th-century brothel where the elaborate rituals of social intercourse between customers and the women, the "flowers" of the title, provide a candid look into a fascinating society.
"If you care about the future of cinema you can't afford to miss it." -Jonathan Rosenbaum, CHICAGO READER