''Colour Blossoms'' ( zh, t=桃色, j=Toh sik) is a 2004 Hong Kong art film written and directed by

Yonfan Yonfan (born 14 October 1947) is a Hong Kong film director and photographer. Biography He was born in Wuhan, Hubei, Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China. As the Yang family emigrated from mainland China, they lived first in Hong Kong ...

, and the third in an informal trilogy of films inspired by

Tang Xianzu Tang Xianzu ( zh, t=湯顯祖, s=汤显祖, first=t; September 24, 1550 – July 29, 1616), courtesy name Yireng (), was a Chinese playwright of the Ming Dynasty. Biography Tang was a native of Linchuan, Jiangxi and his career as an off ...

's ''

The Peony Pavilion ''The Peony Pavilion'' (), also named ''The Return of Soul at the Peony Pavilion'', is a romantic tragicomedy play written by dramatist Tang Xianzu in 1598. The plot was drawn from the short story ''Du Liniang Revives For Love'' and depicts a love ...

''. The original Chinese title of ''Colour Blossoms'' literally translates as "Peach Colour", a

euphemism A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...

for

sexual desire Sexual desire is an emotion and motivational state characterized by an interest in sexual objects or activities, or by a drive to seek out sexual objects or to engage in sexual activities. It is an aspect of sexuality, which varies significantly ...

, one of the central themes in the film.Alison Dyer, , ''Hong Kong Entertainment News in Review'', 7 December 2004. Retrieved on 17 February 2007.

Production

Yonfan began writing the

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

for ''Colour Blossoms'' in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, following the screening of his previous film, ''Breaking the Willow'', at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

.''The Making of Colour Blossoms'', featurette on Panorama Distributions (Hong Kong) 2xDVD release of ''Colour Blossoms''
YesAsia Catalog No. 1003884463
He had all three lead actresses in mind from the outset,
, ''FiRST'' magazine, 2004. Retrieved on 14 November 2006. in particular longtime friend Teresa Cheung for the part of Meili.Alison Dyer, , ''Hong Kong Entertainment News in Review'', 7 December 2004. Retrieved on 23 February 2007., ''bc Magazine'', 2005. Retrieved on 23 February 2007. Despite being a Hong Kong production, the cast and crew of the film came from a number of Asian countries, with actors from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

(Matsuzaka and Yokouchi) and

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

(Harisu), and a filmmaking crew from

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

, led by

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

Wang Yu. For the film's score Yonfan travelled personally to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

to find a local composer, eventually hiring the talents of Surender Sodhi, a veteran of the

Indian film industry The cinema of India, consisting of Film, motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various #Cinema by language, film indus ...

. Although ''Colour Blossoms'' had initially been planned as a low budget production, the actual cost ran to HK$10 million. It was largely funded by Yonfan himself,Alexandra A. Seno
"A filmmaker bucks Hong Kong trends"
''International Herald Tribune'', 7 February 2005. Retrieved on 14 February 2007. but financing problems resulted in an extended filming period of 13 months.Andrew C.C. Huang
"Retrospective of Hong Kong master Yonfan and his new movie ''Colour Blossoms''"
''Art of Andrew C.C. Huang'', originally printed in ''Taiwan News'' on 12 August 2005. Retrieved on 23 February 2007. The film had difficulty attracting potential investors due to its risqué subject matter, and a number of local actors had also been dissuaded from participating by their agents.

Main cast

* Teresa Cheung as Meili. Yonfan has stated that Cheung was his inspiration for the film, although the character was not directly based on her personality. A first time actress, Cheung was initially reluctant to perform the nude and sexual scenes, but has defended the film's artistic qualities."Yon Fan's controversial ''Colour Blossoms'' to premier"
''Xinhuanet'', 27 October 2004. Retrieved on 18 February 2007. *

Keiko Matsuzaka (born July 20, 1952) is a Japanese actress. Early life Born in Ōta, Tokyo, her father was a naturalized South Korean while her mother was Japanese. Career In the 1960s, Matsuzaka became a child actress. Matsuzaka grew into adulthood in fil ...

as Madam Umeki. Regarded by Yonfan as one of his cinematic idols, Matsuzaka has said that ''Colour Blossoms'' was her most demanding film. *

Harisu Lee Kyung-eun (; born February 17, 1975), better known by her stage name Harisu (), is a South Korean pop singer, model, and actress. In 2002, she became the second person in Korea to legally change their gender. Her stage name is an adapta ...

as young Madam Umeki. *

Carl Ng Carl Ng (吳嘉龍; born 27 March 1976) is a Hong Kong actor and model. Early life The third of four children, Ng was born in Hong Kong and is of mixed ethnicity of half English and half Chinese. His mother is Susan Ng, a British woman, wor ...

as 4708. Ng was originally approached to play the role of Kim, but after reading the script "fell in love with the cop 4708". The character has no dialogue in the film, instead relying on gestures and movement, something Ng recognised as a challenge. * Sho Yokouchi as Kim. A former male model with no previous acting experience, Yokouchi had great difficulty with the film, admitting that he "just couldn't grasp the meaning." As a result, he has since stated that he will never make another film, believing he is not suited to the work. Credited in the film as Sho.

Reception

Prior to its release, ''Colour Blossoms'' received strong criticism from the Hong Kong media for its strong sexual themes and the involvement of lead actress Teresa Cheung, herself a controversial figure. It premiered in Hong Kong on 27 October 2004, and opened to the public the following day. During its opening weekend it was the second highest-grossing film in Hong Kong, but total box office earnings of HK$4,584,092 failed to recoup the film's budget.Colour Blossoms
, ''Hong Kong Film Archive''. Retrieved on 17 February 2007. ''Colour Blossoms'' also received a cinema release in both Singapore and Japan, and was screened at a number of film festivals worldwide, including

Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

, Cinemanila, and the

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

. In 2011, the film was screened at the 16th

Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF; ), formerly the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), held annually in Haeundae District, Busan, South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festival, held fro ...

, as part of a retrospective of

's films, which featured seven of his restored and re-mastered films from the 1980s through 2000s.

Critical response

The film has received a very mixed response from

critics A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governme ...

. In a particularly scathing review for ''Firecracker'' magazine, Alison Wong dismissed ''Colour Blossoms'' as "a sexual melting pot that is all style, little substance and virtually no chemistry", describing the S&M scenes as "almost laughable", and going on to say "that for all its lofty aspirations, the film has no driving purpose beyond attempting to titillate." Another critic wrote that the film is "incredibly dense, emotionally cold, and moves at a glacial pace", and that "Everything looks and sounds absolutely stunning utit just doesn't make any sense." Other negative reviews have nevertheless also praised the films visual aspects: Carl Davis at ''DVD Talk'' stated "There is no arguing that ''Colour Blossoms'' is a gorgeous looking movie", but that the director ultimately "gives us style over substance." A review at ''Fridae.com'' called the film "an undeniable feast for the eyes", but added that it "also veers dangerously into campy excess and plain old weirdness" while criticising the "weak and unconvincing" characters and plot. However, some critics have defended the film's

artistic merit Artistic merit is the artistic quality or value of any given work of art, music, film, literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art fo ...

. In a review for ''DVDActive'', Bodhi Sarkar described the film as "a profoundly mesmerising journey of human sensuality and spirituality", going on to add that the "poetic camerawork, luminous cinematography and Surender Sodhi's tranquilising soundtrack help create an enjoyable and thought provoking visual treat".

Awards and nominations

''Colour Blossoms'' has both won, and been nominated for, a number of awards. It has won the following accolades: It has also been nominated for the following awards: * 25th

Hong Kong Film Awards The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies typically take place in April, and have mostly been held at the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre since 1991. The a ...

(2005). Retrieved on 14 February 2007. ** Best New Performer – Teresa Cheung ** Best Art Direction – Man Lim Chung ** Best Costume & Make Up Design – Yonfan, Ho Tsz Leung ** Best Original Film Score – Surender Sodhi *

Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards The Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award () is the annual award given by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society in Hong Kong since 1994. The award is determined by votes cast in three rounds after a substantial discussion session between the members ...

(2005) ** Best Actress – Teresa Cheung

Notes and references

External links

Official Site
* *
''Colour Blossoms''
at the

Hong Kong Film Archive The Hong Kong Film Archive is a public film archive collects, preserves, and screens Hong Kong films and other related materials. The archive was founded in 1993, when its Planning Office was opened by the Urban Council. It joined the Intern ...

{{Yonfan 2004 films BDSM in films 2000s Cantonese-language films 2000s erotic drama films 2004 LGBTQ-related films Erotic fantasy films Hong Kong LGBTQ-related films Films about trans women Films directed by Yonfan 2000s Japanese-language films Hong Kong drama films Films scored by Surinder Sodhi 2004 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s Hong Kong films English-language erotic drama films