Tian liang zhi qian (2016)

Tian liang zhi qian: Directed by Matt Chung-tien Wu. With Aaron Kwok, Zishan Yang, Lei Hao, Andy On. After squandering his inheritance, a gambling addict befriends a prostitute who decides to help him find his daughter, while avoiding the local gangsters who want him to repay his debts.

“Weu0026#39;ve seen films like this already: Before Sunrise, Adrift in Tokyo… theyu0026#39;re almost their own genre; we also know that everything hinges on how we come to feel about the characters upon having strolled around town with them for an hour and half. So then, shall we…? u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHaving serious gambling debts with the kind of scum who can never be paid back, Aaron Kwoku0026#39;s Gao Ye is desperate…then, Momo, a whimsical prostitute walks into his room, played by the adorable Zishin Yang. Apparently determined to spend time with him, Gao seeks to exploit her bizarre neediness to win what he owes, quickly getting her caught up in his mess.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs we follow Gao and Momo through a (nameless?) city at night, weu0026#39;re treated to excellent photography which – strange for the genre – doesnu0026#39;t really utilise its setting. Weu0026#39;re also spared the preaching of how gambling is bad, yet at the same time, Gao Ye never seems to learn from his mistakes, making him a bit frustrating to watch. Their exploits and/or conversations never really managed to draw me in, while the warmth weu0026#39;re supposed to feel for their characters is almost devoid, instead being saved as a final punch to the gut, moments from the end.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd thatu0026#39;s where One Night Only fails: it just doesnu0026#39;t draw the viewer in enough, so that when the final credits roll, weu0026#39;re left thinking a flat, u0026quot;Oh…u0026quot; rather than genuinely feeling the emotions the film tries to leave us with.”