Comrades: Almost a Love Story (1996) User Reviews

Delightful Asian Romance

[ProfessorFate · 9/10 · 5 October 2004]

Other reviewers have said it well: this is a wonderfully romantic film. I hate to make a statement like, "It's the Asian version of . . . ", because the film doesn't need a comparison to any American film to have an identity, BUT it has several things in common with "The Way We Were", "Comrades" follows an up-and-down romance over the span of several years and has that same quality of bittersweet fate hanging over them throughout. The early scenes in which Li Xiaojun (Leon Lai) and Li Qiao (Maggie Cheung) begin their love affair are particularly entertaining. A favorite scene: Li Xiaojun helping Li Qiao on with her coat, they get closer and closer, their lips brush together, then they embrace, then a full on kiss, then mutual passion overtakes them as they both feverishly unbutton that same coat they had just been struggling to button. The scene is both sweetly romantic and humorous.

Another similarity to "The Way We Were" is that both films benefit from a tear-inducing song, in this case a love song by Taiwanese singer Teresa Tang which plays a vital role in the plot. Great job of direction by Peter Chan and a wonderful script, but it's the performance by Maggie Cheung that really sells the film. From the moment you see her behind the counter at McDonald's you're hooked by her energy, spunk, attitude, and determination. Her character runs the gamut of emotions during the course of the film and there wasn't one false moment in her performance. She is totally believable, whether she's flashing a self-satisfied grin into her ATM machine or dealing with a devastating loss (I won't give it away, but Cheung's reaction is heart-wrenching). "Comrades" is truly a wonderful film.

A movie for Maggie Cheung

[n-88794 · 9/10 · 12 April 2020]

Every time I watch this kind of film, I feel as long as I have lived a lifetime

Wish I had watched it sooner instead of 2014

[drjlo · 9/10 · 26 March 2014]

"Almost a Love Story" is known as a classic among the Asian countries, not just China or Hong Kong. However, I somehow missed watching it until 2014(!) perhaps because I was not too eager to see yet another uninspiring romantic comedy, which seems to have been the norm for quite some time now in the cinema world.

After seeing every combination of the romantic comedy formula for years, I did not expect much out of "Almost," which admittedly has plenty of its own cliché's and coincidences. But despite those, the movie still manages to be achingly beautiful and heart-taxingly stark in its depiction of the human condition. This movie may especially shock the Westerners who are used to "clean" and neat romantic love stories. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it as soon as possible.

A Wonderful Film

[Xiayu · 10/10 · 22 January 2005]

This movie is delightful from start to finish. Although some of the coincidences and chance meetings are highly improbable (both going to NYC? Both watching the same TV set at the same time?), they cannot spoil what is a genuinely touching and moving experience.

Instead of a the usual scenario where two people try desperately to find love, the two leads, Li Chiao (Maggie Cheung) and Li Xiao Jun (Leon Lai), try desperately to avoid it. Both Mainlanders, she has come to Hong Kong to make her fortune; he has come to earn enough money to marry his long-time fiancée back on the Mainland. Through a brief meeting in a McDonalds where Li Chiao works one of her several part-time jobs, and Xiao Jun has come to experience the unknown-in-his-hometown food, they become friends. They discover a shared love for the songs of Taiwanese singer Teresa Tang, which become the soundtrack to their relationship. Both are lonely, and gradually they form a genuine friendship, then a not-so-casual intimate relationship. Their struggle to remain true to their original goal in coming to Hong Kong leads to an emotional crisis for both them and their partners. The struggle takes place over a ten year period, during which they separate only to keep bumping into one another and reopening old wounds. The resolution of this struggle is sweet indeed.

The lead actors are both exceptional, particularly Leon Lai, who always seemed to be playing a variation on himself until this film. He is completely believable as the naive and trusting Xiao Jun, and Maggie Cheung is, as ever, radiant and affecting. The songs of Teresa Tang are used to great effect, one of which gives the film it's title (Tian mi mi, the title of the Chinese version, roughly translates as Sweet Like Honey).

Loses a point for the number of coincidences, but otherwise unreservedly recommended.

Astonishingly Romantic and Realistic

[donleavy · 10/10 · 13 June 1999]

This movie is much more than a conventional romance, with the typical meet-cute sequence and plot-convenient obstacles that get neatly resolved. I'm thinking of the typical American Meg-Ryan-Julia-Roberts movie, where everyone is inexplicably wealthy, no one has any real problems, and all the "wrong" boy/girl-friends are shrews or dorks ... so the audience has nothing to do but wait for the inevitable and unrealistic end.

This movie represents some other real-life complications, such as coping without a lot of money, and shows the characters struggling with, and taking responsibilities for, their relationships and commitments.

The two leads, Maggie Cheung & Leon Lai, are terrific. Also wonderful is the supporting performance by Eric Tsang as Pao Au-Yeung. This is a thoughtful and beautiful movie about real people and real love.

An every-day subject wonderful packed up

[Mike-69 · 10/10 · 27 December 1998]

The film deals with an every-day subject that lots of films have dealt with so far: boy meets girl. So many people might tend to say "It's always the same with that kind of stories", but in this case they are wrong. This film is simply lovely. Everything is there. The rough meeting, the soft touch, the first realization, the despair in the rain, the slight hope, the fate's sign and finally the supernatural power of emotions. All this with Hongkong and New York - two of the most exciting cities in the world - as background and casted with the outstanding actress Maggie Cheung who I'd love to see more often in the cinema.

There might be bigger love stories, but for those two hours you watch this film the most beautiful love story comes from Hongkong.

brilliant

[annie17 · 12 April 1999]

This brilliant love epic spans 10 years and traces the star-crossed relationship between two Chinese immigrants who are mysteriously drawn to each other and find comfort in each other's experiences. Though certain coincidences are perhaps unrealistic at first glimpse, the scriptwriters handle it extremely well, embedding them in a believable situation. The direction is flawless, the casting is perfect. Leon's innocent face is exquisite and Maggie's strength and determination deem her a likable heroine. Perhaps slow for non-romantics, this movie paints a beautiful portrait of ideal love, one which surpasses time and place and confirms the ideal belief that certain things are meant to happen in our life. This movie addresses many issues at a level yet unreached by Hollywood and it can really teach westerners a lesson on how to bring out the essence of true love.

Maggie Cheung's best work

[DevilFis · 10/10 · 7 October 1998]

This movie is a classic. Maggie Cheung, in what I consider her best work, is simply brilliant as the young Chinese woman who emigrates to Hong Kong in search of a better life. While it is a classic love story, Peter Chan has done a fantastic job of making it extremely fresh and captivating. The script is very well-written, and the rest of the cast and crew perform admirably. But it is Maggie who steals the show, and for this role she deservedly won Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Luck accompanies the pure of heart...

[vid-10 · 7/10 · 1 June 2004]

This fable of comrades (i.e. people from Mainland China migrating to Hong Kong in pursuit of their dreams) and lovers Maggie Cheung and Leon Lai is generally enjoyable, although at times I found it hard to believe, as it relies a lot on luck, coincidence and predestination. It may be that luck protects those with a noble soul, surely the spirit of Teresa Teng must have watched over the two comrades from a very close point of view!

The first half is very entertaining and energetic, as it follows the ups and downs of the protagonists, as they experience the frenetic life of Hong Kong, with its fast jobs, fast money and fast food. At the same time, Leon and Maggie also discover the negative aspects of their stay: the stock market landslides and, more over, the loneliness of living alone in a big city. Inevitably, they fall in love with each other and yet try to remain detached, as they have way too different aspirations: Maggie Cheung is a business-oriented girl, while Leon Lai is more idealistic and, more over, is already engaged. Among the most memorable moments is the bunch of wishes that the two comrades exchange, in celebration of the New Lunar Year!

The arrival of Leon Lai's girlfriend to HK marks a big change of pace in the movie, as an ocean of problems, sorrows and regrets await the two protagonists: second half is very melodramatic, be warned! Anyway, the movie is definitely worth the viewing, if it were only for the thorough portrait of Hong Kong it offers. 7/10

11 stars out of 10--it's that good

[divemaster13 · 10/10 · 9 February 2010]

"Comrades, Almost a Love Story" is one of my all-time favorite movies, of any genre. It is hard to express just how wonderful and moving this romance is. Enough to touch even the most jaded and cynical of hearts.

"Comrades" swept award after award upon its Hong Kong release. For example, see the list for the Hong Kong Film Awards: Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Director (Peter Chan), Best Actress (Maggie Cheung), Best Supporting Actor (Eric Tsang). Plus Best Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume & Make-up Design, and Score.

The story covers a 10-year span. In 1986, Li Jun (played by Leon Lai) arrives in Hong Kong right off the proverbial turnip truck. He's a Mainlander from some rural community up north. He has come to Hong Kong to make some money in order to eventually bring his fiancée down and get married. This task is made difficult because he is rather naive and more importantly, doesn't speak a word of Cantonese. His best hope is to work menial jobs until he can learn the language and better his circumstances.

One day he goes into a McDonald's to pantomime his way into ordering a hamburger. The cashier, Li Qiao (Maggie Cheung), is arrogantly frustrated with his inability to speak Cantonese and tells him he'd better get with the program because in the hustling capitalism of Hong Kong, people like him don't stand much of a chance. He is drawn to her because she can speak to him in Mandarin and she is very cute. "Are you from the Mainland, too?" he asks. "Of course not!" she says. (It's hard to move up in HK with that stigma attached.) Anyway, they end up spending time together. She steers him toward an English language class. Out of friendship? Well, not really, because she gets a cut ($$) for every Mainlander she delivers. She also has him running errands and such for her.

They grow closer. At one point she confesses that she too is from the Mainland (but from nearby Guangzhou Province, not from up north hicksville). He replies "I've pretty much known that all along." "They why did you let me take advantage of you?" "I needed a friend and you're the only one I have." They become lovers of convenience and proximity. He still loves his fiancée and sends her letters, but she is distant and Li Qiao is near.

So far, this is the first half hour of the film. How it plays out from here is the magic of this movie. The backdrop of the next 10 years is the ever-changing Hong Kong as it prepares for the 1997 handover. Fortunes made, fortunes lost. Li Qiao and Li Jun go their separate ways, but find themselves back in each other's lives from time to time. She meets someone else and he ends up marrying his fiancée. But still their feelings for each other can never be suppressed entirely.

I hope I have not made this seem like a typical boy-meets-girl romance. It is so much more than that, and yet without all the trappings you might expect from a big-budget Hollywood film. There are no wisecracking sidekicks, no cute kids making fools out of the adults, no slapsticky miscommunications. Just these two wonderfully engaging people and the lives they lead and the difficult choices they make.

I know I am a romantic softie. A number of movies cause my eyes to get all misty. I've seen "Comrades" at least 6 times and I still get leaky. I know what happens, I know how it ends – there are no plot surprises. Yet every time I watch it I can't help but be absorbed by the acting, the pacing, and the emotional impact of the story of these two people.

Every time you watch a movie like this, you feel that your life is so long

[zodbug · 5/10 · 12 February 2023]

Zhang Manyu's acting skills are really perfect, in the morgue to claim the body of Brother Pao (Tsang Chi Wai), first a smile, and then slowly crumbling shots, it is estimated that no one in today's show business actress can exceed. She will Li Qiao, a tenacious and tough woman fully expressed in her language, body, a look, a look up. Especially seeing her, due to the economic crisis brought about by the Hong Kong stock market crash in '87, which led to her bank balance dropping to double digits, she had to work as a masseuse, that helplessness with a determination to persevere to the end, I definitely believe that she can turn around.

a touchstone of Hong Kong cinema

[lasttimeisaw · 8/10 · 29 March 2017]

Peter Chan's COMRADES: ALMOST A LOVE STORY is a touchstone of Hong Kong cinema, a decade-spanning romance revolves around two Chinese main-lander finding their feet in HK from the bottom-line and shoved together by loneliness, camaraderie and simmering affection, yet their life trajectory would bifurcate by checkered fate, only to be reunited in a foreign land of New York City, ten years after their first encounter, serendipitously facilitated by the news of the sad demise of their favorite singer Teresa Teng (1953-1995).

Li Xiaojun (Lai) and Li Qiao (Maggie Cheung), he is a wide-eyed Northerner arrives in HK to stay with his auntie (Tsu), doesn't speak Cantonese but his dream is to earn enough money to bring her fiancée Xiaoting (Yang) to HK and tie the knots; she, a Southerner from Guangdong Province who sports a fluent Cantonese (initially, she withholds her provenance from him), is more opportunistic and all she wants to be is a successful Hong Kong citizen, thus, the biggest barrier between them is their disparate nature of their goals, but that doesn't stop them from being friends and sometimes, bed-mates through the vicissitude of their lives. But the key is always in her hands, from a MacDonald girl, to various sidelines, it is the unethical job of a masseuse introduces Li Qiao to the triad boss Pao (Tsang), an ostentatious, chubby shorty whom she grows attached with, in Ivy Ho's organically unforced script, this reflects a limpid sensibility of don't-judge-the-book-by- its-cover philosophy, and this sidebar would culminate in a heart-string-tugging crescendo where Maggie Cheung enthralls us with a textbook exemplar of how to turn on the waterworks.

Both Xiaojun and Li Qiao would attain their dreams in due course, but that doesn't automatically bring them the happiness they pine for, it is a familiar scenario of right people meet in the wrong time, which is well-integrated into their backdrop of an unglamorous view of Hong Kong at its time, a financial hub beckons a better life, but also rifles with geometrical and language discrimination (the Teresa Teng mythos), speculative business (dubious stock market), nostalgia (auntie's lingering on the beggar-belief history with William Holden) and an undertow of uncertainty during that consequential decade, before Hong Kong would be returned to its motherland in 1997 to bookend its colonial history.

Burnished by Ivy Ho's top-notch diegesis (one particularly coup-de-maître comes when Li Qiao accidentally honks her car, which prompts Xiaojun into action of rekindling their affair, with Teresa's autograph emblazoned as an oracular signpost, it is one of those fortuitous incidents actually could become a game-changer in one's life), and two leads' deeply engaging performances, Leon Lai is thoroughly uncontrived in a very sympathetic and good-natured role without coming off as cutesy, and Maggie Cheung, the Hong Kong cinema goddess, one just cannot overpraise her magnificence and versatility (please, come back to the silver screen!), Peter Chan's outstanding romance saga eschews every nook and cranny to embarrass itself as a schlocky weepie and withstands its emotional punch up until its well-rounded cyclical coda, a knowing nod to the numinous methodology of predestination.

The dreams, the love and the time make them suffer, but give them the answer.

[lihan9909 · 10/10 · 2 December 2006]

I have just finished watching it. The emotions came out from deep down in my heart, and I couldn't control myself to stop crying. This is the film of love, reality and dream. It has nothing to do politically with HongKong before or after 1997. It shows the story of two young people who think they are young enough to not choose and avoid love as the dream of life, instead, they pretend to make their 'materialised dreams' come true. However, after their dreams do come true, they are not satisfied. When they turn over their faces, and realise that having each other is the dream. This is a soft and gentle film that in some way affect your heart deep down inside. The struggle the characters experienced are somehow showing the contradictions that all the immigrants would encounter. Those two 'immigrants' from mainland of China into HongKong have the reluctance of choosing between 'dream' or 'love', just like all the foreigners live in a country would have confused with and took the wrong decision. It is difficult to settle into one culture, when meet the people from your hometown, you feel like as if they are closer to you than your family.

From the fantastic performance from both two actors, the whole structure of the film is satisfying, and the pace of unwrapping the storyline is as exciting and surprising as the Christmas presents. The love in the film is somehow very 'pure' and 'simple' from the determination and patience that took them years to find each other.

Finally, there is only one thing to say: Among the sea of people, 'yuan'--the invisible and chosen force that connect you with the others in a particular way is unchangeable and if you believe it, you will never be able to miss 'the one' for you, no matter what happens, and where you will b.

Just ask yourself-- billions of people in the world, why do I meet you not someone else?

moving

[notting-12 · 8/10 · 9 February 2003]

This movie made me moved at all,two young people coming from mainland went to Hong Kong looking for their dreams ,although they might lose a lot of things. At the end of the movie ,they sat in the street of America ,hearing the news of deng li jun's death,.a story ended,but another story began.

Very moving movie with many levels of meaning!!!

[moviecow13 · 26 September 2004]

"TMM" is also known as "Comrades: Almost a Love Story." The Chinese title comes from a famous song by Teresa Tang, a Taiwanese singer who is important to the movie. In terms of plot, this movie is essentially a very focused/HK version of Forrest Gump, so the two major characters keep bumping into each other at very particular moments (more on that in a moment). Basically, there is an HK bias against those who come from the Mainland, and Mainlanders like Teresa Tang, so the characters' love(s) for the song is emblematic of how various characters deal with the transition from the Mainland to HK: picture a very nuanced version of city mouse/country mouse, complete with a different language. The movie basically will give some indication of when a scene is taking place, then segue to another scene. So, the fact that one character is making a killing means that this is a time when the HK stock market was booming, or people were worried about the handover, or the stockmarket crashed. Knowing that these characters are about to go through something that everyone in HK experienced adds a new level of meaning to the very, very good dialogue. There is a great twist at the end that places every scene in perspective, but spoilers are evil. Backstory: Leon Lai plays the male lead; he is essentially a one man Chinese Backstreet Boy. The gangster is played by a mainstay of HK movies. Maggie Cheung is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses in the world, so seeing her portraying a McDonald's clerk is amazing. An English instructor is played by Christopher Doyle, the cinematographer for "Days of Being Wild," "Happy Together," and "Hero,"

Fantastic movie i have ever watch

[chankwong1983 · 10/10 · 4 June 2007]

After i watch this movie, i have many beautiful feeling and just want to cry. it is a really warm and genuinely love stories with wonderful music. The performance of each character is extremely appropriate for their situation. I will recommend it to my friends, because it likes Columbus found a new continent,and i find a movie with a well cinematography.

I will not repeat the plot again, everybody would see what is the excellent point. but here i will figure out what is true love from it. the true love is the girl or boy you want but you can be with him or her for a long time, even though you can not be together just like the protagonists how they love each other.

this film have too much coincidence....need to be act more nature...anyway i love it

memory...

[renderboyy · 10/10 · 20 May 2002]

you will feel very good when you see an old "friend" who had special experience with you and made deep impression on you quite by chance in a place where far from your story happened place after a long time... [my pooooooooooor english, hope you could understand, cause we love this movie!!! THE BEST MOVE ABOUT EMOTION!!!]

Meeting you are quiet an accidental event in my life, but the sweetest.

[yuxiciciz · 8/10 · 13 April 2020]

Peter Ho-sun Chan is a Hong Kong film director, his recently released comedy American Dream in China is well-known. But maybe less people know his early movies, such as Almost A Love Story. Qiao has very strong adaptive capacity, just like a grass seed, she can survive no matter where the wind blows her into. She is a strong minded woman, she told Xiaojun, their relationship is not the reason they came and struggle a life in Hong Kong. They both came from inland China to build their wealth here and earn a better life. Although they love each other, they still maintain in friendship. However, this chance encountered experience dims all achievement Qiao gained. The expected sweet feeling and sense of satisfaction didn't come when Qin got the wealth she always wanted. Maybe our happiness is not from the result which we are pursuing all the way but from the unexpected experience or people we met during the way. Date back to the period when they were selling tapes of Teresa Teng's songs, Xiaojun told Qiao, " I know you usually took advantage of me, but I am afraid you won't come to find me if I have no advantage to be taken. Because you are the only friend I have in Hong Kong." One is eager for success, another is down to earth. Maybe just like the saying goes that, Great wisdom appearing slow-witted. By the arrangement of fate, they came across again in 1996. When they smiled at each other, it seems saying, " Meeting you are quiet an accidental event in my life, but the sweetest."

Life Gets In The Way

[boblipton · 9/10 · 2 June 2023]

Leon Lai comes to Hong Kong from his small village. He hopes to earn enough money to marry his sweetheart, Kristy Yeung, who stayed behind. Celebrating his first paycheck, he goes to MacDonald's and meets Maggie Cheung, a girl who seems to hold down ten jobs, and hopes to get rich. They become friends and sleep together in a friends-with-benefits way, but break up when he asks her help in choosing a gold bracelet for Miss Yeung, and buys her one. But they are not through with each other.

In many ways this intensely romantic movie reminds me of the works of Claude Lelouch, in particular his Toute Une Vie, with its attitude that everything leads to one moment. Lelouch's movie spans a hundred years and many continents; Peter Ho-Sun Chan's only nine years and two continents, but I waited, achingly, for these two to find each other, Lai's unfocused and naive hick, and Miss Cheung's focused and acerbic urbanite, as life and other people, perfectly nice people in the end block their happiness. Can two people find each other in the swarming crowds of Hong Kong and New York?

Under-rated romance

[leecheewai20032003 · 10/10 · 29 January 2022]

This is an under-rated romance that deserves a wider audience, especially in the West. It stars Maggie Cheung (In the Mood for Love) and was ranked among the top 10 movies of 1997 by Time magazine. It is also ranked among the lists of top 100 movies of all time in China, HK and Taiwan.

A film to which you can say: "I know how that is"

[yang10 · 1 July 1999]

While there is a host of good things about this film, I am absolutely blown away by the superb acting of Zhang ManYu (Maggie) and the directing of Peter Chan.

Throughout the story, I cannot help but feel: "that is the relationship I want," "I know how that is," and "wow, that is love." By exploring the many finer subtleties of life, love, and friendship, Peter Chan made "TianMiMi" for the average audience. If you have never felt friendship, success, failure, the passionate kiss after weeks of sexual tension, the hope that life will improve, and the fate that you cannot escape, this movie is a good place to start.

IMO, this is a top 1 romance movie.

[pazortegaandrade · 9/10 · 17 November 2020]

I dont know much about cantonese, mandarin or any language being speak on Hong Kong, China or Taiwan. So I dont know how trustworthy were the subtitles for this movie.

But that didnt matter, every scene, every sentiment throughout the whole thing, was soooo good. This is one of the best movies I've seen about love.

Beautifully Heartbreaking

[bravoechoecho · 10/10 · 28 November 2020]

HongKong gives Ghibli Studio Aesthetics

If you've truly experienced love and lost it then this movie will break your heart.

more than just a love story

[zhangjingjing · 10/10 · 17 August 2015]

It's been nearly 20 years since this movie came out and almost everything changed in China, but for me, this movie really describes the spirit and mentality and love and life of many Chinese in a quickly-changing world especially when they leave their hometown.

The Chinese name of this movie is Tian Mi Mi, a very popular song at that time, one of the first things that brings some fresh air after the culture revolution. And there are many details and nuances in this movie that demonstrate that this movie is not just about love or relationship or romance, it's about life, the struggles of people between reality and dream, love and lost, etc.

It tells me that what makes Chinese people still alive and happy after all those tragedies in life. Look forward, don't look back. Maybe it's related to the atheism of most Chinese, we know that 'this too shall pass" for everyone and everything, so we try our best to live, to love, to forget, to move on.