Wong Kar-Wai's Blossom Shanghai is Finally Coming Stateside
Wong Kar-Wai is one of my favorite directors. Despite having only made 10 feature films (his last, The Grandmaster, came out in 2013), I count two of his features, Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love, among my all-time favorites. When I heard he was going to make a TV series, I was intrigued. But this isn't a typical TV series; Blossoms Shanghai is 30 episodes long. This is the equivalent of getting multiple Wong Kar-Wai movies. Imagine my disappointment when, at long last, the series made its debut in China on December 27th, 2023, and there was no word of a North American release.
Now, almost two years later, the Criterion Collection announced that the series will be making its debut on the Criterion Channel on November 24th, 2025. Every Monday, they'll release three new subtitled episodes through the end of January. While they are very different directors, I can't help but be equally excited as when David Lynch was releasing a new Twin Peaks episode every week, as he did for Twin Peaks: The Return in 2017.
A few years ago, I wrote about Wong Kar-Wai because Criterion released a box set, The World of Wong Kar-Wai, that contained many of his feature films. If you're interested, you can read that here.
Max Covill
Furthermore, John Powers wrote a big introduction for Blossoms Shanghai if you want to learn more about the series.
I can't honestly tell you if Blossoms Shanghai will be a reason to subscribe to the Criterion Channel. Honestly, if you enjoy this newsletter, you might enjoy the channel on its own merit. But this is one I'll be watching for certain.
If Blossoms Shanghai isn't for you, I've collected some movie trailers I've enjoyed that came out this week, as well as some interesting Entertainment news.