July Rhapsody | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

92% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings

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.

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July Rhapsody

Critics Reviews

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July Rhapsody | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Kat Sachs Chicago Reader Hui employs a delicate flashback structure that evokes the past and present concurrently. There’s also an element of national identity that makes this deceptively plain film a multilayered consideration of everyday life... Aug 7, 2024 Full Review July Rhapsody | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Brad Hanford Slant Magazine Ann Hui’s investment in her characters and their passions bleeds through every frame. Rated: 3.5/4 Jul 14, 2024 Full Review July Rhapsody | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Alex Heeney Seventh Row Ann Hui’s July Rhapsody is a melodrama about marital discord with a light touch, where both partners explore other relationships. Oct 5, 2024 Full Review July Rhapsody | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Diane Carson KDHX (St. Louis) Director Hui belongs among those rare filmmakers who captures lives so perfectly that the characters feel like relatives, neighbors, acquaintances. Aug 28, 2024 Full Review July Rhapsody | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Dennis Harvey 48 Hills It’s a film whose appeal is difficult to peg, but whose sum impact is quite lovely. Jul 18, 2024 Full Review July Rhapsody | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Lee Jutton Film Inquiry Revisiting July Rhapsody is a reminder that Ann Hui is one of the most empathetic and important filmmakers of the Hong Kong New Wave. Jul 9, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member just cant take my eyes off Karena as always (all of her early films were great performed) a solid mellow drama, nice =) Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member The story is good, but it's so slow. I already know what's coming half way through. Should have made it 30mins long. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member Ann Hui is an excellent storyteller, but it is sometimes difficult to see what one gets out of her movies because at the end of the slow pace there’s seldom any catharsis or huge plot twist ie. no big reward for the viewer. But the directorial restraint and understated emotion makes this movie easy to relate to in an everyday manner, and that’s a sign of good filmmaking. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member Een aangrijpende prent over midlife crisis, verleiding en het terugblikken op de keuzes en invloeden die ons gevormd hebben Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the most beautifully shot HK films I've ever seen. The colours and grain of the film stock were perfect. Camerawork was polished. Could barely understand it without English subs, so I'd have to watch it again, but just the way the scenes played out, and the time period it was set in lends itself to being an outstanding work of art. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member With a beautifully composed script by Ivy Ho and secure direction from Ann Hui, July Rhapsody has quite the emotional impact. The way the story slowly unfolds itself, proportionately and objectively, makes emotional investment natural and effortless. The movie's affect also depends largely on very realistic characters, presented as real human beings with equal amounts of merits and flaws, and handled sensitively by each member of the cast. Karena Lam is a true revelation here, skillfully avoiding any tempting Lolitaisms, and Jacky Cheung also manages to refer from the potential sensationalistic exploitation of his character. Anita Mui is perhaps somewhat aloof in her final performance on screen, but in a way that fits the narrative and her character's emotional development. The midlife crisis theme could easily turn into a very ugly thing in the hands of any director, but in July Rhapsody there is only sad lingering beauty. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Read all reviews

July Rhapsody

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Cast & Crew

Ann Hui Director Jacky Cheung Lam Yiu-Kwok Anita Mui Lam Man-Ching Karena Lam Choy-Lam Tou Chung Hua Mr. Sheng Eric Kot Wong Yui
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July Rhapsody

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July Rhapsody

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Synopsis 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.

Director
Ann Hui

Producer
Tung-Shing Yee, Ann Hui

Screenwriter
Ivy Ho

Distributor
Cheng Cheng Films

Production Co
Filmko Pictures

Genre
Drama

Original Language
Chinese

Release Date (Theaters)
May 12, 2024, Limited

Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Jul 19, 2024

Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 1, 2024

Runtime
1h 43m

Sound Mix
Surround
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July Rhapsody | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

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