Chi Ming yi Chun Kiu

Love in a Puff is a Hong Kong film about a boy and girl starring Miriam Yeung Chin Wah as Cherrie and Shawn Yue as Jimmy. Jimmy is the young 20 something, nonchalant, advertise pushing boy while Cherrie is the older 20 something, Sephora make up selling girl full of sass.

When Hong Kong starts to throw down the hammer on smoking, the areas in which people can smoke start to dwindle. Smoking areas become dens for these new outcasts as they huddle in cramped alley ways. With fire between their lips the smoking breaks offer an opportunity to swap ghost stories and catch up on the latest gossip. One day Cherrie mets Jimmy for the first time and as he lights her cigarette he the also lights the flame in her heart.

Aggressively she gets Jimmy attention by her seductive pushing and pulling. Yes, I'm into you, oh maybe I'm not. Yes, no, Yes, no, and on and on it goes because you know you like it.

The idea behind this film is extremely simple but it's the exquisite execution that's worth seeing. The director Ho-Cheung Pang masterfully directs his talented actors to show, not tell; to communicate through lies and body movement. It's not an easy thing to do to show the minute instances of attraction and jealously with just a way you say something.

The cinematography is great at capturing intimate moments between the two. However the constant shallow focus gets a little out of hand at times leaving some of the action out of focus. The music is also a very nice touch having a sort of floating sensation above the characters just like the smoke they exhale.

Love in a Puff is a well done romantic comedy, in the showing I was watching the audience was fully enchanted by the two love birds and laughed unreservedly at the jokes. It's definitely the perfect date movie for those wishing to inhale some laughs.

Who this film is not for:

-People who don't like subtitles

-People who take love too seriously

First of all, it is very subjective as I am a smoker. Second, you may find a way out if you are a non-smoker or anti-smoking, you are not the target audience of this romantic comedy.

Since smoking is prohibited in all indoor area in Hong Kong, people used to smoke in the alley nearby the... workplace. In the smoking break, the cosmetic salesgirl, Cherie (Miriam Yeung) and Jimmy (Shawn Yue), they begin the relationships under this unique circumstance.

From time to time, they text each other, smoke tons of cigs and hang around together. Director (Pang Ho-Cheung) flawlessly captures the habit, manner and weird things nowadays. Meanwhile, the Mandarin dialogue is sarcastic in a very roundabout way. However it couldn't be fully translated as it relates local culture.

Text messaging, smoke and drinks, hang out, facebook or whatsoever. The movie reflects bundle of social behavior and interaction, it's truly a picture of the relationships between twenties / thirties. No matter how easy to communicates, they failed to express their own feeling, especially Jimmy, who does it by text messaging rather than facing each other. The natural mind-set is another enjoyable piece of the movie. Besides, the mockumentary-like video clips intersecting to the film is like a bunch of snacks or tricks. It's not bad at all, conversely, I would rather say this is essential and constructive to the plot.

As a final point, Pang sets it well but hardly to say it is structured firmly. Yet, this smoking break is interesting and enjoyable.

Love in a Puff has a lot about it that I really enjoy. For starters, it was just the right amount of quirky. It was unique without needing to be obnoxious. There were a lot of moments that were heartwarming and fun to witness as the two main characters grew more infatuated with one another. I also enjoyed how the film portrayed love as a very nuanced emotion. It wasn't sappy, in fact it was quite realistic in portraying how far from perfect love, or what we think of as love, can be. The film didn't try to rush a love story, neatly packaged in 1 hour and 44 minutes. Instead, it simply introduces us to the potential beginnings of a partnership. Miriam Chin Wah Yeung gave an incredibly endearing performance. Her facial expressions in particular caused her to stand out among the rest of the cast. I went into this movie not knowing anything about it. Within the first few minutes, I was immediately drawn to her character. This was before I knew she was one of the main characters. She didn't even have very many lines in the beginning, but her expressions really drew me in and made me want to know more about her.

That being said, there was a lot about the movie that I did not enjoy. They tried to mix an interview-style documentary in with the rest of the film not being done in documentary style. This was never explained. We never find out who the interviewers are, why they're interviewing our characters, and how they were supposed to tie into the story. It seemed like a cheap way to reveal the characters backstories and opinions. An interesting premise, but ultimately I feel it fell short. Another thing I wasn't fond of was how unnecessarily mean our main duo could be. There is a scene where Jimmy is unabashedly rude as he describes one of Cherie's friends as an ugly toad. Instead of sticking up for her friend, Cherie just holds back laughter. This scene really didn't do anything to further the plot. It was just cruel. Even as the poor girl cries from being stood up on a date, Jimmy openly laughs at her and Cherie continues to not stick up for her supposed friend. These aren't the type of characters I like to root for, personally.

So really, I'm not sure how I feel about this film. There was a lot that was done right, and some truly charming moments. But also some not-so-charming moments as well.

Love in a Puff is a light-hearted romantic comedy examining typical romantic relationships in Hong Kong nowadays. It starts creatively and ends with a catchy song. However, the film is far from perfect because of several reasons.

First, the story with some witty and authentic dialogue is not flawless. That Cherie leaves her boyfriend whom she has been with for 5 years because of a newly met male friend she fancies simply does not convince me. Her character should at least experience some emotional turmoil when she makes the decision. Also, it is unlikely for her to go to a motel with Jimmy with her luggage. Instead, she should look for a place to settle in first. Apart from this, the twist at the end seems unlikely.

Second, although Miriam Yeung is able to perform naturally, her character is not three dimensional enough to showcase her acting skills. Judging from her character's tone and choice of words, the audience only sees Miriam, instead of Cherie in the movie. Miriam's character should be called Miriam. Moreover, the scene in which she argues with her husband in the bedroom is devoid of tension, which is a solid proof of her average performance.

Third, the use of foul language is slightly over the top. After watching the movie, I cannot help but ask if it is necessary for most characters (a health inspector included) to use foul language so often. It seems to me that the movie is stereotyping smokers as foul-mouthed. By the way, it is interesting to observe that some members of the audience burst into laughter whenever a character uses foul language. In other words, this kind of joke does not work on everybody.

Fourth, the interviews are insignificant and insipid. Indeed, most of the things they talk about in the interviews are not thought-provoking. Besides, is it necessary to show the boom mic intentionally in every interview?

On the whole, Love in a Puff, at times, has a subtle insight into romantic relationships in Hong Kong nowadays, whereas it is far from perfect.

A light hearted and carefree Rom-Com of the year...

Director Pang Ho Cheung rarely disappoints and his latest venture in Love in a Puff is suitably far less self-indulgence and more carefree and fun to watch. Together with the witty and interesting dialogue co-written by last year High Noon's Heiward Mak, Pang paces the film in almost real time fashion. From the sense of a throw-back to Woody Allen's classic Annie Hall by breaking the third wall with characters talking about love, life, fate and smoking to the real time technique similar to the elegantly viewed Before Sunrise. Pang has created a little masterpiece, slightly underrated, easy to go under the radar, but simply a movie for film lovers to embrace.

Love in a Puff is the kind of film that isn't overtly directed, but rather the actors are allowed space to express themselves in real-time effect. Meeting people at a random ash-can in the back alleyway of Hong Kong is easily believable. After all, for all you smokers out there, how easy is it to share a light or two with a complete stranger with the possibility of striking up a laugh or two? The answer is yes. Pang plays with these premises and goes to the extreme in depicting smokers and constantly smoking. Smoking is what connected them in the first place and former queen of comedy, Miriam Yeung glows in her role as a matured yet simple girl torn between the end of a current relationship and the hope of beginning a new one. Likewise, Shawn Yue gives a career progressing performance as her younger love interest. Despite their best efforts on screen, the duo just somehow never clicks. While the dialogue and interaction between the two is more than interesting, the only evident problem is the lack of chemistry between the two leads. Surely their age difference was taken into account during the movie, but there is something that just stops the duo from kicking in the romantic sparkles. Good friends – yes, but lovers – a definite no-no.

All in all, Love in a Puff might just feel like a lesser Pang Ho Cheung's effort, but in fact it is exactly that carefree and fun feeling which makes this film better than it should be. It is also a return to the trashy, witty, light hearted fun not seen since his earlier works. It might not mean much, but Love in a Puff is easily the most enjoyable and carefree and light hearted Rom-Com of the year...(Neo 2010)

I rate it 8/10

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