Tasteful, art-filmish romantic melodrama telling the story of Li Xiao-Jun (Leon Lai, who's surprisingly excellent), a newly emigrated mainlander who lives at his aunty's place (actually, a whorehouse); he's so new to HK that he doesn't even know how to queue up at MacDonald's, where enterprising Li Chiao (Maggie Cheung) happens to be working as a counter girl (!). Even though Xiao-Jun has a girlfriend back home he fully intends to marry, a romance develops with his new friend -- one of his few links with home. Things start going wrong when Xiao-Jun marries his ballet dancer girlfriend (Kristy Yeung), and Li Chiao takes up with a genial triad chief (Eric Tsang) -- developments which are eventually followed by estrangement and death. The catchy pop songs of the late Teresa Teng serve as a touchstone for our two refugees, a nostalgic link that helps bring them together in New York at film's end. HK cinematographer of choice Christopher Doyle gives the film a pleasing sepia look, and does a credible acting job as an English teacher whose girlfriend has AIDS.

(2.5/4)



[Reviewed by Steve Spinali]