Dave Barber Cinematheque
Dave Barber Cinematheque
Dir. Patrick Tam
1989, Hong Kong, 90 min
Cantonese with English subtitles
The idyllic, beach-side life of a retired Triad boss, his daughter Lap (Joey Wong) and her boyfriend Rick, shatters when a mob favour turns into a bloody shootout. Trading her freedom for her father’s, Lap becomes mistress to Godfather Shen while Rick goes into exile. Years later, Shen unknowingly hires Rick as a hitman, and Lap sees her chance at escape, while doe-eyed Triad gofer (Tony Leung) completes the doomed quadrangle.
Directed by the foremost stylist of the Hong Kong New Wave (and a mentor to Wong Kar-Wai), My Heart Is That Eternal Rose is the apotheosis of Patrick Tam’s time within the strictures of the Hong Kong mainstream. Fulfilling commercial requirements with a lush sense of style, the film sings with the painterly cinematography of Christopher Doyle while Tam’s dream-like direction bridges the distance between the bullet ballets of a John Woo and the festering darkness of a David Lynch.
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