July Rhapsody
男人四十
Director: Ann Hui | Writer: Ivy Ho | Stars: Jacky Cheung, Anita Mui, Karena Lam
Brimming with unspeakable serene beauty, JULY RHAPSODY by Hong Kong's director Ann Hui (A Simple Life) and scriptwriter Ivy Ho (Comrades Almost a Love Story) is a profound and soothing tale about how one paddles through life’s chaos as many seemingly eternal inspiration sources of times, like the Yangtze river, quietly fade away. In appearance, Lam prides himself on teaching classic Chinese literature at an elite school and a family of a caring wife and two sons. Deep down, the man of forty tastes unfulfilled ambitions in affluent old classmates' belittlements and unsatisfied desires in seductions from a free-spirited student. The sudden return of his teenage years mentor finally wrecks this vulnerable balance. Lam must unearth the long-hidden truth about who he is and gain a new perspective on how to live the rest of his life.
COMING SOON TO THEATRES (UPDATING)
NEW YORK, NY Film Forum
SEATTLE, WA SIFF
SAN JOSE, CA, 3 Below Theaters and Lounge
LOS ANGELES, CA, Laemmle Theaters
ALBUQUERQUE, NM, The Guild Cinema
VANCOUVER, BC Vancouver International Film Centre
TORONTO, ON TIFF Lightbox: May 11th, 2024
WINNIPEG, MB Winnipeg Film Group
WATERLOO, ON Princess Cinema
ARRIVING ON DVDS
FALL 2024
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS
Berlinale Panorama
San Francisco International Film Festival
Busan International Film Festival
Taiwan Golden Horse Film Festival
Hong Kong Film Awards
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
“Ann Hui may actually be Hong Kong’s best storyteller..her finest film in years.”
“There’s a serenity and quiet beauty about this small but impressive film.”
“She is a narrative filmmaker who situates her characters in the imperfect social world and shows them struggling, and largely succeeding, to survive. The daily doings and settings of the characters are densely detailed with a kind of documentary realism, and the story unfolds almost casually, with moments of humour and pathos. ”
“…not only satisfyingly enthralling while it lasts but also effectively lingers in one’s mind, imagination and maybe even heart for days — not just minutes and hours — afterwards plus demands to be shared with and by others.”
“Movies like July Rhapsody are Ann Hui’s specialty, and when you’re yearning for a more tame representation of Hong Kong’s cultural tendencies, she never disappoints.”
“noteworthy for containing Anita Mui’s final film performance...She was Hong Kong’s biggest star at the time, but here she plays a woman whose marriage is about to disintegrate through no apparent fault of her own…The greats can vanish and fade away, swept aside by the passage of time and fickleness…This is a movie about the quiet end of something.”