The thing about this film is that it’s incredibly intriguing, with themes that make you question the nature of human relationships.
How you think about yourself and others only matters to you, and while that’s important this film has proved to me again that a relationship, or even purely an interaction, is a two way street: the person on the other side of the transaction only knows what they receive from you, regardless of how you may think of yourself and your situation.
This film shows a lot of ways how people bar themselves from expressing their true emotions, in particular towards creating, or at least giving the chance to create, an even more meaningful relationship with those they care about or those that care about them. Societal barriers also are shown well, which I don’t believe are barriers solely tied to the norms of Hong Kong of that period.
I think there’re some heartwarming and positive notes in this film, but overall it’s dark and serves almost as an important reminder and warning to all of us to realise and internalise the above messages before we take too much time to experience the same conclusion through our own experiences, as by then it may be too late for some possible beautiful relationships to blossom.
I would rate this film better if I had a better visceral reaction to it. What I lacked in that department was compensated by the many thought provoking scenes that came up.
