# Shanghai Blues

Shanghai Blues (Chinese:上海之夜) is a Hong Kong comedy film directed and produced by Tsui Hark in his producing debut, which had its premiere in September 1984. Kenny Bee, Sylvia Chang and Sally Yeh starred in this film. The music is composed by Wong Jim. The film has been selected as one of the Top 10 Chinese films of 1984 at Hong Kong International Film Festival. This was the first film that Hark produced under his new company, Film Workshop.

## Plot

Dung Gwok-man and Aak-suk are both clowns at a Shanghai night club, and after the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Gwok-man is seized by patriotic zeal, and prepares to join the army. As the Japanese fighter planes attack Shanghai, Gwok-man meets a young girl named Aak-syu while they are sheltering together from the bombs under Suzhou Bridge and they fall in love, promising each other to meet at Suzhou Bridge after the war. Ten years pass, and Gwok-man returns to Shanghai to look for Aak-syu, but only meets several vagrant veterans.
At this time Aak-syu has become a dance hostess at Bat-je-sing nightclub. One day she runs into Dang-zai, a scatterbrained girl who is new in town and has had all her money stolen, and she lets Dang-zai live in her room, not realising that their upstairs neighbour is Gwok-man. One day, Aak-syu's teenage maid at the club is molested by a pervert and Aak-syu herself is beaten for helping her and in the farcical chaos, she is bundled on stage and sings in an impromptu number, which attracts a plutocrat's attention. This man wants to marry her, but Aak-syu huaghtily refuses him.
Dang-zai takes part in a beauty contest to be the city's "Calendar Queen" quite by chance, thinking that she is going to be interviewed for the position of kindergarten teacher. Accidentally, she is chosen as the winner by the wealthy old lady who sponsors the contest, because Dang-zai looks plainer than the rest and she does not want her husband to seduce the new "Calendar Queen". At the same time, "Shanghai Blues", a song composed by Gwok-man, is chosen by a famous singer Zau Siu-sin, and suddenly becomes a smash hit with the Shanghai people. One day it rains very heavily, Gwok-man and Aak-syu share an umbrella, they return to Gwok-man's home together, but are encountered by Dang-zai, who is in love with Gwok-man unrequitedly. Another day, Gwok-man saves Ask-syu when she is annoyed by some ruffians.
Gwok-man and Aak-suk later find a job as street performers to advertise a new gift shop. One day when he is performing, Aak-syu happens to come out of this shop where a besotted sugar daddy has been buying her and other young women gifts and demanding kisses in return. Gwok-man and Aak-suk's eyes meet; they have a strange moment in which they realise there is a bond between them. Aak-syu wants to meet Gwok-man, but he hurts her leg when he jumps out of a car. Dang-zai appears at Calendar Queen party, a rich man fuddles her, so the boss can rape her. But the wealthy old lady drinks the wine mixed with magic potions by mistake and faints on the bed in the boss's room. The drunken Dang-zai falls to the ground, escaped from rape. A power failure occurs that night, the boss mistakes the old lady for Dang Zai, and it ends with a farce. In the same night, Gwok-man and Aak-syu finally recognize each other.
When Aak-syu realize that Dang-zai also love Gwok-man, she decides to leave Shanghai. At the last moment, Gwok-man catches up with the train, to be together with Aak-syu again. Dang-zai, walking away feeling sad about Gwok-man and Aak-syu's departures, meets a young woman who appears to resemble Dang-zai.

## Reception

Reviewer Andrew Saroch of Far East Films wrote, "'Shanghai Blues' is, overall, superior entertainment, but by the time the end credits roll it's hard not to think of what might have been."