(YE MEI GUI ZHI LIAN)

One of the finest films in the history of Hong Kong cinema, a musical noir where cigarette smoke becomes a character itself. Director Wong Tin-lam’s expressionistic sets and high-contrast black-and-white cinematography, combined with a sophisticated use of music, revives 1940s-50s songstress films with a modern edge. Jazz, blues and Western opera are woven into popular songs by Japanese composer Hattori R. Grace Chang stars as the tempestuous nightclub singer nicknamed ‘Wild Rose’ who seduces a pianist and then falls fatally in love. Her sensual rendition of a song adapted from Bizet’s Carmen still mesmerises.

The screening will be introduced by Prof. Chris Berry.

Notes by Hong Kong Film Archive

Screening as part of East Asia Film Festival Ireland 2026