Nostalgia Kinky

A remarkably lovely and moving romance from legendary filmmaker Johnnie To, Romancing in Thin Air is amongst the most surprising films I’ve encountered in some time. Recently released in the US for the first time on Blu-ray by Radiance Films, Romancing in Thin Air is a rare bird of a film. Beautifully shot in the picturesque Shangri-La forests in Yunnan, China, To’s film is a breathtaking piece of cinema beautifully presented on this new Radiance release.

Sammi Cheng plays Sue, a young woman living and working in the remote and high-altitude Shangri-la area. Cemented by grief, Sue’s life changes when she, by chance, meets her teenage cinematic crush Michael, who has recently been left at the altar by his unfaithful fiancée. Despite their own distinct heartbreaks, the two begin to fall in love as their lives unexpectedly drift into a film-within-a-film.

It is a bit of a miracle that Hollywood hasn’t come along and made a terrible remake of Romancing in Thin Air. With its ready-to-go plot, Romancing in Thin Air is a film ready to be easily turned into pure commercial schmaltz starring Sydney Sweeney and little Timothée Chalamet or whoever the current social media obsessions are. Thankfully, that’s not happened…yet…leaving us just this marvelous original, more of an art-film than Hallmark romance.

While To is known on American shores for powerful, dramatic works like The Heroic Trio (1993) and Mad Detective (2007), he and his company Milkyway have delivered many successful romances through the years. Many of these films have, in fact, been more financially successful for To, enabling him to create more personal works like Election (2005). While I haven’t seen any of these other more romantic films, it is hard to imagine that Romancing in Thin Air is amongst the very best. In fact, I’d be surprised if Romancing in Thin Air isn’t finally considered amongst To’s greatest achievements.

Romancing in Thin Air is one of those rare films about new love that gets everything right. There’s not a moment in this film that rings false or forced. Working from a pitch-perfect script from Milkyway writers Jevons Au Man-Kit, Wai Ka-Fai, and Yau Nai-Hoi, To and his team create a wondrous work of cinema with Romancing in Thin Air, a completely original picture. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

Amongst the big reasons Romancing in Thin Air succeeds is due to the lovely chemistry between Louis Koo as Michael and the wonderful Sammi Cheng. Both deliver beautiful, completely believable, and heartbreaking performances. Cheng is especially devastating, giving a performance that made me cry on more than one occasion.

Running nearly two hours, Romancing in Thin Air is fairly epic for a modern chemistry-driven romance, but it earns every moment and remains compulsively watchable throughout. Shot beautifully by cinematographer Cheng Siu-Keung, Romancing in Thin Air is a remarkably remote piece of cinema. To takes his audience to a literally ‘higher’ place than most of us have ever been, both geographically and soulfully.

Radiance has treated Romancing in Thin Airs like the important title it is, delivering a disc with hours of extras, along with the beautiful-looking and sounding feature. Extras include a full commentary with historian Dylan Cheung, lengthy behind-the-scenes footage, original cast and crew interviews, a screenwriter interview, and a new video essay on To by Sean Gilman. I especially appreciated Gilman’s contribution as it details To’s career in relation to these little-seen romances. The limited edition also includes a terrific book with new writing on the film, along with Radiance’s usual OBI strip and reversible sleeve. Romancing in Thin Air’s is a marvelous film, amongst the most surprising and unshakable works I’ve encountered this year.

-Jeremy Richey, April 2026-

Order Romancing in Thin Air directly from Radiance or here in the States from MVD.