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Movie
Poster for Flowers of Shanghai

Flowers of Shanghai

1998 · 113 min

A slow, intoxicating drift through lamplit rooms where desire and status blur into quiet heartbreak.

Directed by
Hou Hsiao-hsien
Genres
Drama
Starring
Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Michiko Hada, Carina Lau
Overview
At the end of the 19th century, Shanghai is divided into several foreign concessions. In the British concession, a number of luxurious “flower houses” are reserved for the male elite of the city. Since Chinese dignitaries are not allowed to frequent brothels, these establishments are the only ones that these men can visit. They form a self-contained world, with its own rites, traditions and even its own language. The men don’t only visit the houses to frequent the courtesans but also to dine, smoke opium, play mahjong and relax. The women working there are known as the “flowers of Shanghai”.

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Rent or buy in the UK
  • Apple TV Store
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More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Hou Hsiao-hsien
Genres
Drama
Starring
Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Michiko Hada, Carina Lau
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 3 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • romanticstrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • love
  • betrayal
  • isolation
  • power
  • freedom
Places
  • big city
  • single country house
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror1
Humour2
Realism8
Romance6
Tension5
Darkness6
Complexity8
Emotional weight7

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Where to watch in the UK

Rent or buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama
Directed by
Hou Hsiao-hsien
Written by
Chu Tien-wen
Starring
Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Michiko Hada, Carina Lau, Michele Reis, Jack Kao, Rebecca Pan, Stephanie Fong Shuan, Annie Shizuka Inoh
Music
Yoshihiro Hanno, Tu Duu-chih
Cinematography
Mark Lee Ping-Bing
Runtime
113 min
Country
Taiwan
Languages
Mandarin, Cantonese

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