Brimming with unspeakable serene beauty, JULY RHAPSODY by Hong Kong's director Ann Hui (A Simple Life) and scriptwriter Ivy Ho (Comrades Almost a Love Story) is a profound and soothing tale about how one paddles through life's chaos as many seemingly eternal inspiration sources of times, like the Yangtze river, quietly fade away. In appearance, Lam prides himself on teaching classic Chinese literature at an elite school and a family of a caring wife and two sons. Deep down, the man of forty tastes unfulfilled ambitions in affluent old classmates' belittlements and unsatisfied desires in seductions from a free-spirited student. The sudden return of his teenage years mentor finally wrecks this vulnerable balance. Lam must unearth the long-hidden truth about who he is and gain a new perspective on how to live the rest of his life.
"Ann Hui may actually be Hong Kong's best storyteller..her finest film in years."-- Kozo (Ross Chen), LoveHKFilm.com"
"There's a serenity and quiet beauty about this small but impressive film."
- David Stratton, Variety"
"She is a narrative filmmaker who situates her characters in the imperfect social world and shows them struggling, and largely succeeding, to survive. The daily doings and settings of the characters are densely detailed with a kind of documentary realism, and the story unfolds almost casually, with moments of humour and pathos. "
- Freda Freiberg, Senses of Cinema"
