Haitang Hong: A Dusty Relic or Hidden Gem?

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, that depends on how much patience you have for flickering frames and exaggerated sighs. If you appreciate the ghosts of old cinema, sure, dive in. If you think everything needs a plot twist every five minutes, you’ll probably be bored to tears within the first ten. 🥀

Watching Haitang Hong feels like reading someone else’s diary from a century ago. The actors have this specific way of projecting their misery that just doesn't exist anymore. Xiuwen Shu carries the screen, even when the scene feels like it’s just padding out the runtime.

Oddly specific observations

There is this one moment near the middle where the lighting shifts, and for a solid thirty seconds, the main character is just standing in a shadow that looks suspiciously like a smudge on the lens. It was distracting, but honestly? It made it feel real. Like the projector was struggling to keep up with the drama.

The dialogue is… well, it’s dramatic. People don't talk; they declaim. It reminded me a bit of the stuffy tension in The Great Love, where every glance is loaded with enough subtext to sink a ship. It’s exhausting, but in a way that feels almost necessary for the genre.

• The pacing is glacial.
• The wardrobe is actually kind of stunning, if you look past the dust.
• There’s a background actor in the third act who clearly forgot they were on camera for a second.

I found myself drifting off during the longer indoor scenes, only to be jolted awake by a sudden, sharp violin note in the score. Why is the music always so loud during the quietest moments? It feels like the director was worried we’d forget we were watching a tragedy.

It’s not quite as sharp as After the Thin Man, which knew exactly when to crack a joke and when to let a scene breathe. This movie forgets to breathe sometimes. It just holds its breath for two hours.

Still, there’s a certain earnestness to it. It isn't trying to be clever. It just wants you to feel bad for the people on screen, and for a moment, I think I actually did. Even if the reason for their suffering was a bit of a stretch.

If you watch it, don't overthink the plot holes. They are everywhere. Just let the black and white wash over you and enjoy the melodrama. It’s a relic, for sure. But relics are allowed to be broken.