''Romancing in Thin Air'' (; "High-Altitude Romance II") is a 2012 Hong Kong-Chinese contemporary romantic drama film directed by

Johnnie To Johnnie To Kei-fung (born 22 April 1955) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter and film producer. Popular in his native Hong Kong, To has also found acclaim overseas. Intensely prolific, To has made films in a variety of genres, though in ...

, and starring

Louis Koo Louis Koo Tin-lok ( zh, t=古天樂; born 21 October 1970) is a Hong Kong people, Hong Kong actor, singer and film producer. He began his professional career as an actor in local television series, winning TVB's Best Actor award in 1999 and 2001 ...

and

Sammi Cheng Sammi Cheng Sau-man (; born 19 August 1972) is a Hong Kong singer and actress. She is considered one of the most prominent female singers in Hong Kong, with album sales of over million copies throughout Asia. Most notably in the 1990s, she was dub ...

Plot

While onstage to receive an acting award, Hong Kong screen god Michael Lau (

) proposes to his mainland co-star, Ding Yuanyuan ( Gao Yuanyuan). At the paparazzi-packed wedding reception, however, the bride runs away with her first love, coal miner Zhang Xing (

Wang Baoqiang Wang Baoqiang (; born 29 May 1984) is a Chinese actor, martial artist and director. His debut role was that of Yuan Fengming in the movie '' Blind Shaft'', for which he shared the Best New Performer prize at the 2003 Golden Horse Awards. Early ...

). Michael goes on an alcoholic bender, and has the unlikely coincidence of tumbling into the back of a truck bound for

Shangri-La County Shangri-La (, Tibetan: Gyalthang) is a county-level city in Northwestern Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China and is the location of the seat of the Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, bordering Sichuan to the northwest, north, and ea ...

, in northwest

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

province, China. At Deep Woods Hotel, a ranch-style guesthouse 3,800 metres up in the mountains, the lovelorn Michael falls seriously ill with

altitude sickness Altitude sickness, the mildest form being acute mountain sickness (AMS), is the harmful effect of high altitude, caused by rapid exposure to low amounts of oxygen at high elevation. People can respond to high altitude in different ways. Sympt ...

and is nursed back to health by owner Sue (

) and the local doctor (Tien Niu). Sue was a onetime art student from Hong Kong who worked there while studying in China and fell for the place and its owner, Yang Xiaotian (Li Guangjie). Seven years ago, Xiaotian went into the vast forest surrounding the guesthouse to rescue a young boy and never returned. Hoping he is still alive, Sue continues to run the place with two assistants. Michael sobers up and discovers that Sue was an early member years ago of his international fan club. A flashback reveals a parallel romance in which Michael was instrumental in bringing Tian and Sue together. The two bond. Meanwhile, Michael's manager, Barbara ( Huang Yi), is still anxiously trying to trace him. And one day, a raggedy rucksack belonging to Xiaotian is found in the forest, and Sue's hopes rise that her husband is still alive.

Cast

as Liu Baiqian/Michael Liu *

as Sau/Sue * Li Guangjie as Yang Xiaotian * Gao Yuanyuan as Ding Yuanyuan *

as Zhang Xing * Huang Yi as Barbara, Michael's manager *

Tien Niu Tien Niu (; born 23 January 1958) is a Taiwanese actresses. Tien's birth name is Chu Kai-li. She won the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress at the 15th Golden Horse Awards in 1978, and was shortlisted for the same prize during the 19th G ...

as doctor *

Wilfred Lau Wilfred Lau Ho-Lung is a Hong Kong singer and actor. He is also known as "師兄" (C-Hing, Senpai) in the entertainment industry because he was the winner of the 16th annual New Talent Singing Awards International Finals in 1997, despite not be ...

as Xiaolei, Barbara's assistant * Yang Yi as Sue's chubby assistant/Teeny * Sun Jiayi as Sue's taller assistant/Beauty * Fu Chuanjie as priest * Li Haitao as search party leader * Chan Kung as mechanic * Ji Chen as Xiaotian, in film * Yang Zhongliang as grandfather, in film * Zhao Yinlou as grandmother, in film * Gesanglamu as Xiaoliang's sister, in film * Hung Wai-leung as Michael's assistant * Mak Kai-kwong as commercials director * Calvin Lam as reporter * Elanie Tsang as reporter * Lo Kim-wah as film's executive director * Fu Shusheng as grandfather * Xu Feifei as grandmother * Li Qiuer as Xiaoliang's sister * Jiang Binshen as professor

Reception

Maggie Lee of

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

wrote: "A superstar and his erstwhile fan develop a high-concept romance when thrown together in an inn two-and-a-half miles above sea level in Johnnie To's gorgeous-looking escapist elodrama. Lee compared it to his previous film "

Don't Go Breaking My Heart "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" is a 1976 duet by English musician Elton John and English singer Kiki Dee. It was written by John with Bernie Taupin under the pseudonyms "Ann Orson" and "Carte Blanche", respectively, and intended as an affectiona ...

" calling it "still overwrought but less calculated than the earlier effort" saying it would likely appeal to Valentine's day audiences but not to To's action or arthouse fans.

References

External links

* * {{MilkywayImage 2012 films Chinese romantic drama films Films directed by Johnnie To 2012 romantic drama films Hong Kong romantic drama films 2010s Cantonese-language films Films with screenplays by Wai Ka-fai 2010s Mandarin-language films 2010s Hong Kong films