First Pair

Comrades, Almost a Love Story

Dir/Prod: Peter Ho-sun Chan
Scr: Ivy Ho
Prod Cos: Golden Harvest, United Filmmakers Organization Ltd
Cast: Leon Lai, Maggie Cheung, Eric Tsang, Kristy Yang
1996 | Colour | DCP | Cantonese | Simplified Chi Subtitles | 118min

Li Xiaojun (Leon Lai) and Li Qiao (Maggie Cheung) arrive in Hong Kong in the 1980s as immigrants. They grow close, but their different ambitions in life eventually drive them into separate lives and marriages. Years later, following the sudden death of singer Teresa Teng, serendipity reunites them on the streets of New York City.

Comrades, Almost a Love Story marks Chan’s farewell to both UFO and Hong Kong before departure to the United States. The film is his first exploration of the theme of ‘stranger in a foreign land’. The leads journey from Chinese mainland to Hong Kong and finally to New York, forging a romance spanning three territories. Set against the backdrop of Hong Kong's return to the Motherland, the film reflects Chan’s contemplations on diaspora, displacement and identity. The tragic news of Teresa Teng’s death paired with her signature song adds to a sense of sorrow.

UFO’s trademark middle-class romantic urban comedies become a soulful lament for the immigrant experience in this film. In the crowded tenements of Tsim Sha Tsui are lives burdened by hardships and frailty of life. Chan’s perspective as an overseas Chinese imbues the film with a unique sense of rootlessness—Hong Kong is a foreign land, yet being cherished more deeply than the locals. This paradox, expressed with heart-wrenching poignancy, makes Comrades, Almost a Love Story one of Chan’s defining masterpieces.

Images courtesy of Park Circus/Warner Bros.

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