Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Charming and brutal

A Brilliant Conflict

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

This film is really a quality film that tells different stories in the city of Taipei.The plot involves tiny stories from various characters, portraiting different angles of life, what is important to each person.The story ends a little bit awkward though, but it is all because it is not meant to be a typical movie with clear storyline, it is just like peeking at lives of different people.The acting in this film is excellent, especially the main character Chen Mo, he can take the torch from Tony Leung in the near future as the number 1 actor in Asia. Other characters are well casted, since most of them are quite famous and solid actors for some years in the industry already.I would definitely recommend this film for more serious and patient audience

Actually this film was filmed in Taiwan, not China. And just to rebut a point made by the previous reviewer, there are many films that come out of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan that are not Kung Fu films (for example all the films made by the great Taiwanese director Edward Yang). What's good about this film is that it shows us that in any given building or city section, there's a wealth of interesting people and stories to be heard. The interconnection of these different lives seen through the perspective of Chang Chen's character (and here I agree with the previous reviewer) gives us a microcosm of life, particularly of the lower echelon of society that are trying to make ends meet, in Taipei.Also the naturalistic acting by the characters make it all the more believable even in the face of some of the ridiculous situations that arise. A good film, gets my recommendation.

Not a bad film. Not a Kung Fu movie which is usually what you get when you see a film made in China. Quirky plot sets the stage for a series of mishaps that weave through the film in a unique way of being disconnected yet connected. Part art movie in a way because the visuals are sometimes strong enough to stand up on their own-they sort of look like photographs that start to move, yet it is not really an art film at all. A slice of life is a good expression to use to define this film. Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, it is interesting to see, maybe more so for people who are already fans of world cinema. Like a fast moving tone poem.