1 of 5 | Mr. Bao (Hu Ge) rules Shanghai in the ’90s in “Blossoms Shanghai,” premiering Monday on Criterion Channel. Photo courtesy of Criterion Channel
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 24 (UPI) — Wong Kar-Wai’s films capture romantic, personal stories with emotion that transcends language. His first TV show, Blossoms Shanghai, premiering Monday on Criterion Channel, does the same every week.
The series opens with a striking scene of protagonist Mr. Bao (Hu Gi) being hit by a car on New Year’s Eve in 1992.
Flashbacks show how Bao learned the stock market from Uncle Ye (Yao Benchang). The Shanghai Stock Exchange only began trading stock in 1984, with only four companies trading shares by 1987.
Ye’s mentorship of Bao is as compelling as Goodfellas or Training Day, but he’s not teaching anything illegal. It’s just business.
Ye has other wise lessons, including teaching Bao how to dress and present himself in business. The early days of the Shanghai Stock Exchange are fascinating, with whiteboards and scalpers offering shares on the street.
Back in 1993, Wong introduces more characters before Bao returns to the scene. Ling Zi (Ma Yili) is Bao’s partner in their Tokyo Nights restaurant on Huanghe Street, while Miss Wang (Tang Yan) is the Foreign Trade liaison overseeing his deals.
Others include Li Li, who owns the Grand Lisbon restaurant and wants to do business with Bao, Mr. Qiang (Hugan Jue), a rival trader, and Mr. Fan (Dong Yang), a clothing manufacturer in over his head in his deals with Bao.
Wong tells enough story before introducing more characters, with whom he can then tell more story. There is a police investigation into who was driving the car that struck Bao on New Year’s Eve, but it is less important than the daily lives and deals of these characters.
Every time Blossoms Shanghai explores the rising Shanghai stock market, it feels like Bao building an empire. In the ’90s, Bao deals with business and personal interests, and defies Ye’s wisdom.
The weekly episodes present examples of how Bao runs his business and stands by his allies in the face of opposition. Those conflicts can be resolved at the end of an hour while the overall story continues.
Subsequent episodes divide time evenly between characters. The show has a narrative drive like Succession or Breaking Bad, with the added bonus of Wong’s engrossing aesthetics.
Wong, a filmmaker known for Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love, 2046 and more, still uses his cinematic techniques on Blossoms Shanghai. Fans will recognize the step frame effect that gives slow motion a different look than speeding up the camera naturally does.
The colors of the show fit with Wong’s aesthetic. The Grand Lisbon and other restaurants on Huanghe light up the street with colors and golden light in a kitchen lined with golden soup bowls is also striking.
The men wear suave suits with classy vests shading against shirts. The women wear vivid, solid colors in their dresses and coats and even emerging ’90s fashion brands provide both color and business nuance.
A scene of firecrackers makes the streets sparkle. Some soft focus edges bring uncertainty to intimate scenes.
It all creates a world that transports any viewer, be they Chinese or international, back in time and to an elite world of money, power and all the desperation and longing that come with them.
Three new episodes of Blossoms Shanghai premiere every Monday on Criterion Channel through Jan. 26.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
