Comrades, Almost a Love Story

Production Budget Analysis

The production budget for Comrades, Almost a Love Story (1996) has not been publicly disclosed.

CAST: Maggie Cheung, Leon Lai Ming, Eric Tsang Chi-Wai, Kristy Yang Rongru, Christopher Doyle, Joe Cheung Tung-Cho DIRECTOR: Peter Chan Ho-Sun CINEMATOGRAPHY: Jingle Ma Choh-Sing MUSIC: Jun Fun Chiu, Chiu Tsang-Hei PRODUCTION: Orange Sky Golden Harvest, United Filmmakers Organisation (UFO)

Box Office Performance

Theatrical box office data is not publicly available for Comrades, Almost a Love Story (1996). This may indicate a limited release, direct-to-streaming, or a release predating modern box office tracking.

Profitability Assessment

Insufficient publicly available data to assess profitability.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

The Chinese title of the film, 'Tian Mi Mi', comes from a song of the same name by Teresa Teng, which is famous both in mainland China and among the overseas Chinese community. The movie displays love of the famous singer who died a year before the film was released; the film is considered a love poem in memory of Teresa Teng. Her music is featured prominently throughout the film, and Teresa Teng herself is an important subplot for the movie. Leon Lai sings the title song for the ending credits. In a cameo performance, Christopher Doyle, the internationally known cinematographer famous for his collaboration with Wong Kar-wai, plays an English teacher.

Lai was mostly known as a "pop idol" at the time while Cheung was considered an "established character actress", causing some people who knew Chan to doubt their pairing. However, Chan stated that he has originally considered Faye Wong for the role based on her mainland origins, but she turned it down, leading him to cast Cheung instead.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: 27 wins & 9 nominations total

Awards Won: ★ Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Film ★ Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film ★ Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards for Best Film ★ Golden Horse Award for Best Feature Film

Additional Recognition: ! scope="col"| Award ! scope="col"| Date of ceremony ! scope="col"| Category ! scope="col"| Recipient(s) ! scope="col"| Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"|

! scope="row" | Asia-Pacific Film Festival

! scope="row" rowspan="6" | Golden Bauhinia Awards

! scope="row" rowspan="3" | Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards

! scope="row" rowspan="11" | Hong Kong Film Awards

! scope="row" rowspan="3" | Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award

! scope="row" | Seattle International Film Festival

CRITICAL RECEPTION

The film was very well received in Hong Kong and Taiwan, winning best picture, director, and actress for the Hong Kong Film Awards, among other wins. Maggie Cheung's performance also won general acclaim. The movie was voted #11 of the Greatest Chinese Films of all time by the Chinese Movie Database and #28 of the 100 Greatest Chinese Films by the Hong Kong Film Awards. It is also listed in the 100 Greatest Chinese Films of the 20th Century by Asia Weekly Magazine.

Richard James Havis of Asiaweek praised the film's "accomplished, oftentimes wry script", stating that it elevated the movie above the standard Hong Kong melodrama. In particular, he enjoyed Cheung's performance, believing that her "restraint" kept the film from becoming overly theatrical.

In 2011, the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival listed Comrades: Almost a Love Story at number 16 in their list of "100 Greatest Chinese-Language Films". The majority of the voters originated from Taiwan, and included film scholars, festival programmers, film directors, actors and producers.