In Cantonese / Shanghainese / Mandarin … 94 minute running time so the perfect length. One of Wong Kar-wai’s earliest movies, I think. The first half is great, the second half is weaker, and the ending is really disconnected / mysterious, which is a shame because it almost makes it not a green-go.

Anyway, I love the way Wong Kar-wai frames shots … he has a unique approach, not conventional, and it makes his movies interesting, even if the story is sort of weak or dumb. He creates a mood that is really wonderful, esp. around romance-that-could-have-happened-but-doesn’t. (In this movie, the would-be romance happens between Maggie Cheung and the local beat cop, played by a gorgeous Andy Lau. All the Chinese men are beautiful in Wong Kar-wai movies, which is another reason he has a huge number of homosexual fans.)

Leslie Cheung plays a pretty-boy bastard playboy who beds both the always graceful Maggie Cheung and, later, a bratty, immature Carina Lau. They are both crushed when he dumps them.

The second half story is Leslie’s trip to the Philippines to find his mother who abandoned him as a baby. He improbably meets up with the local HK cop who has since become a sailor. There’s some kung fu. Another story line about Leslie’s friend falling for Carina Lau. It’s weaker.

Green-go if you are a Wong Kar-wai completist or if you just want to watch the first half of the movie.