Almost Hong Kong natives become almost lovers in this heart stirring romance drama
Movie
Hong Kong
Cantonese, English, Mandarin
Drama, Romance
1996
PETER CHAN, PETER HO-SUN CHAN
Adrian Kwan, Baat Leung-Gam, Christopher Doyle
116 min
TLDR
Li Xiao Jun, what are you doing, being all confused over Maggie Cheung like that?
What it's about
Coming from northern mainland China, Xiao Jun arrives in Hong Kong, clueless and unable to speak any of the languages common in the city. After the opportunistic, street smart Li Qiao helps him find his way around the city, they form a friendship that gradually becomes a romance spanning multiple years in multiple cities.
The take
There are connections we make in this lifetime that we expect to be ephemeral, especially in a new city, but sometimes these connections end up being the most meaningful relationship to us. For Jun in Comrades, Almost a Love Story, street smart Qiao is that connection. As she teaches Xiao Jun in Hong Kong city life, they both edge closer to being lovers and Hongkongers, but not quite enough to receive the title. And as fate separates them and fate (and Teresa Teng) brings them together, Comrades, Almost a Love Story crafts quite a memorable romance that stems from a shared dream of finally moving up in the world.
What stands out
The score! The music of Taiwanese pop idol Teresa Teng is incomparable, and Chiu Tsang-Hei is able to match her music with a consistently excellent score.