The transfer of Hong Kong from Britain to China in 1997 provides the backdrop for this intimate, romantic melodrama. Jeremy Irons is a British journalist with a fatal illness, who, for years, has nursed an unrequited passion for the dissatisfied mistress of a businessman. As he wanders the city documenting its street life, he glimpses a mysterious woman, whom he must track down for her colorful life story as an accomplished hustler. Wayne Wang ("The Joy Luck Club") directed this tale of ill-fated cross-cultural love.

— Hariette Surovell, COVER MAGAZINE

"As sensual as the orient itself! ...A film of haunting and exotic contrast."

— Rex Reed, NEW YORK OBSERVER

"A fragrant love letter to a beautiful, endangered place."

— David Hochman, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

"Jeremy Irons gives a superb performance! …Wayne Wang has brilliantly captured a significant time and place."

— Larry Grobel, PLAYBOY MAGAZINE

"Wayne Wang’s best film!"

— Robert Hofler, BUZZ MAGAZINE

"Drenchingly romantic! Sophisticated, ironic and highly complex."

— Kevin Thomas, LOS ANGELES TIMES

"Ambitious! Haunting! Its elegiac echoes linger long after the final credits have rolled!"

— Stephen Holden, THE NEW YORK TIMES

"Extraordinary! ...Wayne Wang’s most personal and lyrical film!"

— Daphne Merkin, THE NEW YORK