Time Out Hong Kong gives this delightful rom-com five stars out of six, calling it director PANG Ho-cheung's "minor masterpiece", for good reasons. While smoking provides the general backdrop and you do see an awful lot of puffing on screen, to place too much emphasis on this aspect would be missing the point. What Pang did was making clever use of the introduction of the indoor smoking ban legislation as a vehicle to sketch the contemporary environment and lifestyle of the urban late-twentyish and thirtyish. Nor should the contemporary nature of the courtship game be over-emphasized. What you see, that Pang has deftly depicted, is the he-and-she game that has been going on since the beginning of civilization: hide-and-seek, coy-and-bold, hard-to-get and all these variations. He has, however, done a fantastic job in bringing you right into the middle of the contemporary world.
While Director Pang deserves a lot of credit, he had help. One is Heiward Mak, talented young director whose debut "High noon" (2008) has received wild acclaim. She is invited by Pang to be the co-scriptwriter, providing no doubt the most valuable angle from the fairer sex. Another is Roy Szeto who is sort of the consultant on how the new generation generally behaves, particularly in the department of obscenity, language-wise. I am not kidding and I do not worry about a libel suit from Szeto because this is properly on record, in the public domain: a radio interview with Director Pang. In fact, this has been quite an issue because the movie is rated Category III (the "R" equivalent) solely because of the swearing, case in point of the absolutely absurd rating system, or witless people who exercise it, but likely both. If you go by their yardstick, Martin Scorsese's "The departed" should have been completed banned, and Mark Wahlberg locked up for life!
Enough venting. "Love in a puff" is everything you would want in a rom-com: witty and funny, brisk and breezy, believable and likable characters, innovative narration, tender as well as hilarious moments, and at times quite insightful. The two leads Miriam Yeung and Shawn Yue take the movie along capably while people in the supporting cast have their own moments too. And yes, Roy Szeto is one of them, giving a pitch-perfect portrayal of the contemporary educated and liberated corporate animal. Highly recommended.
While Director Pang deserves a lot of credit, he had help. One is Heiward Mak, talented young director whose debut "High noon" (2008) has received wild acclaim. She is invited by Pang to be the co-scriptwriter, providing no doubt the most valuable angle from the fairer sex. Another is Roy Szeto who is sort of the consultant on how the new generation generally behaves, particularly in the department of obscenity, language-wise. I am not kidding and I do not worry about a libel suit from Szeto because this is properly on record, in the public domain: a radio interview with Director Pang. In fact, this has been quite an issue because the movie is rated Category III (the "R" equivalent) solely because of the swearing, case in point of the absolutely absurd rating system, or witless people who exercise it, but likely both. If you go by their yardstick, Martin Scorsese's "The departed" should have been completed banned, and Mark Wahlberg locked up for life!
Enough venting. "Love in a puff" is everything you would want in a rom-com: witty and funny, brisk and breezy, believable and likable characters, innovative narration, tender as well as hilarious moments, and at times quite insightful. The two leads Miriam Yeung and Shawn Yue take the movie along capably while people in the supporting cast have their own moments too. And yes, Roy Szeto is one of them, giving a pitch-perfect portrayal of the contemporary educated and liberated corporate animal. Highly recommended.