Reviews

I saw this as part of the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal. I've been going to this festival for 25 years, and it was how I discovered the wonderful world of Hong Kong cinema, from old Shaw Brothers kung fu flicks to introspective meditations by Wong Kar Wai, and everything in between -- I even visited the city in 2001.

This collection of short films by acclaimed directors was a heartfelt tribute to the city and its people as it experienced tumultuous changes and growth in the past 70 years. Each segment focuses on a particular era and style of film-making, and they're all well made, and quite often very moving (especially "Exercise", "Headmaster" and "Astray").

If you have any sort of attachment to Hong Kong or its long history of movies, do yourself a favour and watch this film.

The good parts: Some beautiful shots of Atlanta, which we rarely get to see in the movies; Aldis Hodge, Josh Brenner and Max Greenfield all had non-stereotypical characters; Tracy Morgan's trademark non-sequiturs are used just enough; Erykah Badu was unrecognizable in her role, and quite funny.

The bad parts: My big complaint is that the plot jumps forward without explanation a few times, especially in the later half -- it feels like there were 3-4 scenes that were missing (or got cut?); doesn't deviate from romantic comedy tropes (characters fail to communicate and hijinks ensue!); unlike the original What Women Want, doesn't really give insight into the male psyche.

Overall, it's an OK time-filler (perfect for watching on a plane or to chill out one evening), but not something you should seek out absolutely.