Out of Competition | Restored Classics
Bypassing the DVD era – its last Hong Kong video release was a VCD – Tsui Hark’s screwball romcom
Shanghai Blues has largely been unavailable to international audiences. However, renewed distribution is now likely thanks to this stunning restoration, which features cleaned-up visuals and brand new audio tracks with region-accurate Chinese dialects (Shanghainese and Mandarin replacing the original Cantonese) while the breathless, cartoonish enjoyment of Tsui’s delightful classic stays satisfyingly intact.
Like its Hollywood inspirations,
Shanghai Blues features intricate, arguably superfluous plotting energised by spirited banter and sitcom shenanigans. During the 1937 bombing of Shanghai, Tung (Kenny Bee) and Shu-Shu (Sylvia Chang) meet when they take shelter under a bridge. The two fall instantly in love and resolve to meet in ten years at the same spot, though the darkness and chaos means neither really knows what the other looks like. Flash-forward to ten years later, and Tung returns to Shanghai from the war, his long-lost dream lover on his mind, while Shu-Shu has become a cynical dance hostess.
Shu-Shu’s cynicism is a mask for her own romantic longing, but when she and Tung finally meet, they don’t recognise one another. They’re also bothered by a third party, the ditzy Stool (Sally Yeh), whose wide-eyed comic reactions would work splendidly in a silent film. The story is largely powered by coincidence, with subplots that criss-cross so rapidly that one could get confused. Chance meetings, mistaken identity, slapstick violence – all these and more occur, along with a familiar Hong Kong comedy set piece where a bunch of people hide in a small room not realising that other people are hiding there too. Some jokes land with a thud instead of a bang but they’re instantly followed by a dozen more.
The film shines in its period detail, which presents the daily hardships of post-war Shanghai residents, each possessing an aspiration that drives them. The dreams are mundane yet universal, with characters both major and minor desiring self-fulfilment, family or love that would justify their daily struggles. Besides longing for Shu-Shu, Tung seeks to become a songwriter, while Shu-Shu desires reprieve from her tired hostess life. The film lacks antagonists outside of Stool, who’s not a villain but functions as one because of her clueless insistence on marrying Tung.
However, the real villain in
Shanghai Blues is probably life, with its parade of surprises and miseries preventing regular people from simply living. Tung and Shu-Shu’s love is interrupted by a tragic bombing, and even when a happy end is offered, it’s immediately balanced by a loss of innocence. Superficially,
Shanghai Blues is frothy cinema escapism, but it’s also a reminder that every end comes with a beginning, and that little is certain besides uncertainty. Classic Hong Kong cinema is well known for its desperate emotions, where dreams are instantly dashed for reasons beyond one’s control. This is the story of the Hong Kong people, who’ve been passed around from one master to another, who’ve been slaves to politics and history, and who are perpetually fighting (and losing) a battle for self-determination.
Occasionally,
Shanghai Blues soars with surprising lyricism, such as a lively violin solo from Tung that morphs on the soundtrack into a synth-keyboard number (
The Wind at Night, vocals by Sally Yeh, for those searching YouTube) – a moment that’s so infectious and winning that it’s easy to just roll with it. Even decades later, the film’s energy and emotions strike a chord such that the minor filmmaking missteps can easily be forgiven. The world and the movies were once far more innocent, and
Shanghai Blues reminds that once, we were too.
GUEST:
TSUI Hark, director
Sylvia CHANG, actress,
Katherine LEE, restoration producer
Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark (b. 1950) made his film directorial debut with the 1979 mystery-wuxia The Butterfly Murders (1979) and soon became a leading figure of Hong Kong’s New Wave of filmmakers. As a producer, Tsui is responsible for iconic Hong Kong films, like John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow (1986) and Ching Siu-tung’s A Chinese Ghost Story (1987), while his work as a director covers every conceivable type or genre. Tsui owns two Best Director Hong Kong Film Awards and is today one of Asia’s most bankable filmmakers.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
1979 – The Butterfly Murders
1983 – Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain
1986 – Peking Opera Blues
1990 – The Swordsman
1991 – Once Upon a Time in China
1995 – The Blade
2000 – Time and Tide
2010 – Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
2011 – Flying Swords of Dragon Gate
2014 – The Taking of Tiger Mountain
2025 – Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants