Amanda FooEver since the Hong Kong government banned indoor smoking from 2007, smokers have been running out of the office to snatch a quick toke on a cigarette. Most often, they gather around a dustbin with an ashtray, “hot-potting” as it has been termed in the city. The term is apt because news, gossip and jokes are traded around the ashtray while smoke rises like steam from a hotpot.
Love In A Puff, directed by Pang Ho-Cheung, revolves around that simple social act and the breakneck 7-day romance that develops between a straightforward cosmetic salesgirl, Cherie (played by Miriam Yeung) and a mild-mannered yet sarcastic advertising executive, Jimmy (Shawn Yue).
The 2 main characters are introduced after Cherie was just given all the dirty details of Jimmy’s recent break-up due to his straying girlfriend. They hit it off quickly over short conversations, countless cigarettes and enough text messages to rewrite The Art Of War.
There are many things that stand in the way of the relationship’s formation, the least of which is the fact that Cherie is 4 years older than Jimmy. The issue is addressed honestly when Cherie attempts to write it off as a joke, an act that gains even more supporters for the couple.
The other is Cherie’s boyfriend of 5 years and the asthmatic smoker’s (this curious oxymoron is another oddity that adds to the quirky charm of the movie) rut is a familiar situation to some women. She does break out of that, 5 days after meeting Jimmy and to the newly minted couple check into a love hotel. As seedy as that may sound, it’s actually the most tender moment of the movie in which Jimmy looks after her after an asthma attack.
Both Yue and Yeung surprise critics with this film. Yue, who is best known for his role as an undercover police officer in Internal Affairs, is relaxed and charming as the hapless advertising executive. Yeung matures greatly as an actress with her role as Cherie, departing from the previously naïve and airy characters that she is known for.
Another important character in the film is surprisingly enough, Hong Kong’s culture.
While most of the Cantonese jokes and curses will fly over the heads of Singaporean audiences and get lost in translation, the act of forming a relationship over text messaging will make Love In A Puff instantly accessible. After all, even business deals can be concluded over text messages in Singapore.
It’s a pity that the movie was translated from Cantonese to Mandarin because Heiward Mak, famed for his spot-on representation of smart-ass youth speak in High Noon, is the scriptwriter and he liberally uses curses like punctuation. Even though the heavy use of such crude language means that Love In A Puff won’t be a highbrow art piece, it’s still classier and better made than most of the romantic comedies like in cinemas today.
The perfect partner to the script is Pang’s direction.
The director, whose works usually are planted firmly in the realm of very dark comedy, think You Shoot, I Shoot and Men Suddenly In Black, is in fine form here despite the lack of the morbid laughs he’s fond of eliciting.
In this most recent work, however, he’s more lighthearted and casual. Most of the shots are close-ups and shaky. Also scattered in the movie were interviews with the characters and this makes you feel like you are watching a documentary or a home video, much like When Harry Met Sally. It’s obvious that the director was content to place a story into the heart of one of the busiest cities in the world and let it unfold organically and this endears the movie to you.
Love In A Puff doesn’t strive to make a point or a statement, it simply is. While some may call it forgettable or overly simple, it’s a movie that you will watch again and again precisely because it doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Release Details:
Title: Love In A Puff
Opens: Apr 22
Duration: 107 mins
Language: Chinese (with English subtitles)
Rating: ✮✮✮✮☆
Genre: Comedy
Director: Pang Ho-Cheung
Cast: Miriam Yeung, Shawn Yue, Miao Feilin