What prompted me to re-watch this film which I bought on dvd in 2003, still remains a mystery, but I'm glad I did. I didn't remember much of it, so it came to me as a big surprise.
Due to its slow pace and gritty images, SO CLOSE TO PARADISE or BIANDAN GUNIANG may not be to everyone's taste, but if you like films such as SUZHOU RIVER, SUMMER PALACE, STILL LIFE, TOUCH OF SIN, HOLLYWOOD/HONG KONG, CHONGQING EXPRESS, you will definitely want to check this one out.
For all melancholy romantic souls out there who love Chinese cinema I urge you to watch this film. Maybe its not as famous and successful as some of the other titles I mentioned above, but it will certainly touch your heart.
I hope one day it will get remastered in high definition and find the audience it deserves.
Review of So Close to Paradise
