Colour Blossoms (桃色, Toh Sik)
Matsuzaka Keiko, Teresa Cheung, Harisu, Sho, Carl Ng
Dir: Yonfan – Prd: Fruit Chan – Hong Kong – 2004
Meili (Teresa Cheung) is an estate agent who sells an expensive apartment to a wealthy Japanese lady, Madame Umeki Satoko (Matsuzaka Keiko), who buys it with one condition: that Meili finds the right tenant for her previous apartment, which holds some treasured memories for Madame Umeki. Soon after, Meili as she meets a mysterious young Japanese cameraman, Kim (Sho), whilst showing people around the apartment, and she falls for him, as well as an even more mysterious young policeman whom she only knows by his number, 4078 (Carl Ng), and has never spoken to him but their paths seemingly cross many times. In the meantime, Meili’s visits from Madame Umeki expose her to Umeki’s strange world of love, sex and S&M.
Colour Blossoms no doubt has its influences from the legendary Wong Kar Wai, from the gorgeous sets, costumes and cinematography (very akin to the likes of 2046) to parallels such as the beat cop as in Chungking Express. It’s an influence that does the film no harm, particularly as it’s art-house flick.
When it was released in Hong Kong, the film attracted some controversy. In all honesty though, the controversy (centering around the S&M) isn’t really that huge. The film isn’t particularly explicit, on the other hand, for a market that isn’t used to something like this (such as Hong Kong), this pushes the boundaries a bit.
But in terms of the performances. Matsuzaka Keiko was outstanding as Madame Umeki, portraying a wonderfully designed character and giving her some real depth. Harisu, who is well known in Asia for being one of the most beautiful transsexuals in the world, plays the young Umeki and extends the character well, giving her an exquisite mysteriousness. Teresa Cheung makes a very good debut, playing the lead and complex role of Meili beautifully. Sho and Carl Ng give credible performances as well, particularly as Ng has no speaking parts.
Overall, I like what Fruit Chan and Yonfan have both attempted to do in Colour Blossoms. The story is a mix of an erotic and a ghost story and one that has plenty of depth to keep you interested throughout. However, I can help but think that I would have liked to have seen a film that was more original. I love the cinematography and the sets, but I wished it was a lot more innovative than the styles that it appears to have copied. Less of the WKW, and something more imaginative. Ultimately though, I do think this is a good film. A lustful one to see.
8/10
Links:
Buy Colour Blossoms at YesAsia
IMDb entry: Colour Blossoms