Don't Go Breaking My Heart

Cheung Shen-ran works in finance and watches Zixin through the window of the office in the building opposite. The two communicate by writing notes on the glass. At the same time Zixin meets another man, Fang Qihong, an architect who has stopped drinking and put his life back together. Both men want her and she cannot decide. The triangle runs for months among the glass towers of Hong Kong. Directed together by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai, the film sits in a completely different field from To's crime work. The narrative uses the shapes of romantic comedy but works through the design of space: glass, reflections, looks across a distance, and people never in the same room. Louis Koo, Daniel Wu and Gao Yuanyuan take the leads. Who it's for: Viewers who like Hong Kong romantic comedy, the cinema of Johnnie To, and city-centred narratives. Who it's not for: The structure is predictable and the woman's indecision runs long. The emotional depth is also limited.