X
  • 1998
  • Unrated
  • Janus Films
  • 1 h 53 m
  • 1998
  • Unrated
  • Janus Films
  • 1 h 53 m

Summary In Shanghai in the 1880s there are four elegant brothels (flower houses): each has an auntie (called madam), a courtesan in her prime, older servants, and maturing girls in training. The men gather around tables of food, playing drinking games. An opium pipe is at hand. The women live within dark-paneled walls. The atmosphere is stifling...

Directed By: Hsiao-Hsien Hou

Written By: Bangqing Han, Eileen Chang, T'ien-wen Chu

  • 1998
  • Unrated
  • Janus Films
  • 1 h 53 m
  • 1998
  • Unrated
  • Janus Films
  • 1 h 53 m

Flowers of Shanghai

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 11 Critic Reviews
73
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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Summary In Shanghai in the 1880s there are four elegant brothels (flower houses): each has an auntie (called madam), a courtesan in her prime, older servants, and maturing girls in training. The men gather around tables of food, playing drinking games. An opium pipe is at hand. The women live within dark-paneled walls. The atmosphere is stifling...

Directed By: Hsiao-Hsien Hou

Written By: Bangqing Han, Eileen Chang, T'ien-wen Chu

Where to Watch

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 11 Critic Reviews
73
64% Positive
7 Reviews
36% Mixed
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 11 Critic Reviews
73
64% Positive
7 Reviews
36% Mixed
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
A ravishing portrait of Shanghai brothel life in the late 19th Century, shot entirely in one-take scenes in luxuriant red-and-gold interior sets. [02 Oct 1998, p.J]
By Michael Wilmington FULL REVIEW
88
Hou Hsiao-hsien is one of the masters of world cinema, and Flowers of Shanghai represents a shift for him. Stunning and hypnotic, it's his first period piece. [07 Apr 2000]
By Jay Carr FULL REVIEW
80
The tones are dark, but washed with a rich golden light. The costumes, make-up and domestic props are exquisite. But for all the period detail, there is a genuine spontaneity in the emotions. [21 May 1998, p.2]
FULL REVIEW
80
The languid yet precise cinematography throughout gives it the seductive power of a drug-induced dream.
FULL REVIEW
60
Gorgeously mounted, but butt-numbingly slow.
By Derek Elley FULL REVIEW
50
Scene for scene, it's like a gorgeous painting come to life, magically illuminated with a warm, orange glow. Unfortunately, those very sets and costumes take priority over a plot that - at best - is glacially paced. [06 Oct 1998, p.070]
FULL REVIEW
40
The camera never ventures outside, but remains fixed on the action at the table, gliding languidly past the same sepia-toned tableau: In the film's universe, people are indistinguishable and the setting never changes. Hou does succeed in one key respect: His films evokes opium addiction, a narcotic delirium fading into a dreamless sleep.
FULL REVIEW

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Details

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Production Company 3H Productions, Shochiku
Release Date Oct 5, 1998
Duration 1 h 53 m
Rating Unrated
Genres
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Awards

Golden Horse Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 5 Nominations
Asia-Pacific Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Village Voice Film Poll
• 2 Nominations

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