Criticism
Film critic J. Hoberman, like Jonathan Rosenbaum, called Hou Hsiao-hsien the best director of the '90s and hailed Flowers of Shanghai as one of Hou's three masterpieces from that decade.
Jeffrey Anderson finds the film incredibly beautiful despite the need for "multiple viewings and incredible patience." Mark R. Leeper on the other hand found the film "static and dull," while others have called it "borderline comatose."
While Jeremy Heilman didn't want to call it Hou's best film, he certainly considered it his prettiest. Kent Jones called the film innovative.
Read more about this topic: Flowers Of Shanghai
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