Romancing In Thin Air — Romancing In Thin Air( Blu Ray)
Romancing In Thin Air is a 2012 romantic drama from director Johnnie To (Election, Exiled and Drug War). The film stars Louis Koo (Protégé, Paradox and Back to the Past), Sammi Cheng (Infernal Affairs, My left Eye Sees Ghosts and Needing You…), Yuanyuan Gao (City of Life and Death, Rob-B-Hood and All the Good Eyes), Baoqiang Wang (Never Say Never, Mr. Tree and Kung Fu Jungle), Guangjie Li (Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe, The Wandering Earth and Hengyang 1944) and Huang Yi (Drug War, The Legend is Born: Ip Man and The Forbidden Flower).
Famous Hong Kong film icon Michael Lau (Koo) proposes to his Chinese girlfriend, Ding Yuanyuan (Yuanyuan) while accepting an award, which she accepts. The happy couple organise a grand celebrity wedding with a large media presence, however, when Ding’s ex- boyfriend Zhang Xing (Baoqiang), turns up, she leaves Michael at the altar. Michael goes on a bender and ends up stumbling into the back of a truck headed for a hotel, high in the mountains. The Deep Woods Hotel is run by Sue (Cheng) who, along with a local doctor (Tien Niu) has to nurse him back to health after he falls ill with altitude sickness. Sue is a former art student who worked at the hotel while studying and fell in love with the mountains and the owner, Yang Xiaotian (Li). The couple married, and Sue stayed to run the hotel with her husband. Seven years before the events of the film, Yang Xiaotian headed into the vast forest looking for a missing boy and never returned. Our two heartbroken leads begin to form a bond, and a relationship starts to brew, however, when Xiaotian’s backpack turns up, Sue’s hopes of finding her husband alive suddenly take a turn for the better.
Romancing in Thin Air is a beautifully shot movie featuring some of the most stunning scenery in the Yunnan province in China (the stunningly beautiful Shangri-La County to be exact). The cast are good, particularly the handsome Louis Koo as lovelorn Michael and Sammi Cheng as his former fan club member/ carer Sue. The pair have real chemistry and work really well together, while the rest of the cast give fine performances. As a romance, Romancing in Thin Air is a very solid movie with elements of both comedy and tragedy. This bittersweet aspect of the movie’s story gives the viewer something to connect with.
The new limited edition Blu-ray from Radiance Films looks great with its high definition print of the film and both a 5.1 DTS audio track and a 2.0 stereo track. There is also a new audio commentary from Hong Kong cinema expert Dylan Cheung, an interview with screenwriter Ryker Chan, a visual essay from Sean Gilman, behind-the-scenes footage and a making-of featurette. The limited edition version also features a booklet with new writing by Jake Cole and an archival essay from David Bordwell, and stunning artwork including a removable Obi strip that leaves the sleeve free from certification markings.
Overall, this is a glorious release for a really solid romance. I am not generally a big fan of this sort of cinema; however, I enjoyed watching the trials and tribulations that beset our two leads as they suffer loss and heartbreak before eventually rediscovering what it is to love and be loved. Romancing in Thin Air is a bittersweet masterpiece of Hong Kong/ Chinese cinema that deserves to be seen.