the upscale brothels of late 19th-century Shanghai. His affections drift from the possessive, world-weary Crimson (Hada Michiko) to her younger rival Jasmin (Vicky Wei), while the plot branches out to the goings-on at two other houses. Pushing his long-take aesthetic to stunning extremes, Hou Hsiao-hsien uses just 37 shots to envelop viewers in a cloistered, candlelit world gone by, creating one of the most achingly beautiful films ever made.

35mm collection print courtesy of the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Co-presented by Austin Asian American Film Festival.

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Directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien

Taiwan, 1998, 1h 53min, 35 mm, In Cantonese and Shanghainese with English Subtitles

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Tickets: https://www.austinfilm.org/screening/flowers-of-shanghai/