This self-dubbed "mesmerizing and seductive tale of sexual intrigue" introduces the "Flower Girls," a group of Chinese prostitutes (with names like Jade, Pearl, Jasmin and Emerald) who drape themselves about the drawing room furniture of an elegant late 19th century Shanghai brothel. The action, or what very little there is, centers on the financial scheming and backroom seductions that preoccupy this coterie of porcelain-skinned concubines, set against the carousing backdrop of their powerful but dastardly patrons. Albeit a beauty to behold (In The Mood For Love award-winning lenser Pin Bing Lee does some exemplary work here with natural lighting), Flowers of Shanghai is one of the most mind-numbingly dull films I've seen in years. Confining himself solely to the hushed brothel interiors, famed helmer Hou Hsiao-hsien has created an extraordinarily inert work, plagued with endless exposition, undercooked performances, and such a suffocating staginess that the viewer is nearly left gasping for air. (A simple walk through the park would have done any of the moribund characters here a world of good.) Not recommended. (S. C. Sickles)
[Blu-ray/DVD Review—May 13, 2021—Criterion, 113 min., in Shanghainese & Cantonese w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1998’s Flowers of Shanghai is presented with a new 4K digital restoration and features extras including a new introduction by critic Tony Rayns, the new “making-of” documentary Beautified Realism, excerpts from a 2015 interview with director Hou Hsiao-hsien, and a booklet with an essay by film scholar Jean Ma and a 2009 interview with Hou conducted by scholar Michael Berry. Bottom line: although Hou’s gorgeously filmed period drama split critics, there is no denying that it looks splendid in Criterion’s new edition.]