The assumption is easily made when it comes to directors from foreign countries that they only work within a specific genre. This is mainly because American distributors only import that kind of movies that will have a following. I’m not blaming them for being selective in the titles. Even articles written about the directors will focus on the films that get eyeballs to keep up the clicks. It’s hard to want to give a wider sense of different kind of movies made by a director in their home country. Are the people eager for more bloody violence on the screen wanting to see a love story or a light comedy? For a long while, I viewed Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To as dedicated to the action genre. His first big film to reach America was the wild Heroic Trio which featured three leading actresses. This was followed by the kinetic Running Out of Time movies. He also made Drug War, Full Time Killer and The Mad Monk. What if I was to tell you that there was a softer side to Johnnie To? That a man who could give you heart attack inducing action can also create a film of heartbreaking romance? Romancing In Thin Air show Johnnie To can make you cry.
On the greatest night of his acting career, Michael Liu (Throw Down‘s Louis Koo) accepts the award for Best Actor. Instead of giving a long speech, he proposes to his co-star from the film that’s also his girlfriend. She accepts and the ceremony erupts in joy. This leads to a star-studded wedding that turns into a fiasco. Her old coal mining boyfriend turns up and reminds her that they promised to marry each other years ago. Instead of dismissing the guy, she splits the ceremony with him. Michael is emotionally devastated and goes on a serious alcoholic bender. While the media is looking for the broken star, he ends up drinking his way into the countryside and eventually crawls into the back of a truck driven by Sau (Infernal Affairs‘ Sammi Cheng). She drives out to her resort hotel. Michael stumbles around unnoticed for a while and searching for more booze. Eventually he is discovered by Sammi. She wants to help him. Her staff recognizes him and wants to take selfies with the blottoed superstar actor. While Sau goes off to get medical help, her employees can’t help but give Michael more booze which he trades off with hits of oxygen. Sau comes back and has to get draconian to restore order in her resort and get Michael back from the edge. She is a bit on the edge since her boyfriend has been missing for a few years. The forest near the resort is filled with an element that screws up compasses so it’s too easy to get lost. Is he still alive and surviving in the forest? Sau also has an even bigger secret that she’s hiding from Michael.
Johnnie brings elements of his action career to Romancing In Thin Air without alienating the emotional elements of the film. There’s a motorcycle wreck and a few other stunts. But nothing to make you forget that the core of the film is the relationship between Michael and Sau. Johnnie To has as much of a deft hand creating an emotionally charged third act as he does at blowing up the screen with a massive action scene. If you’re a fan of his crime films, Romancing In Thin Air is a great introduction to the other side of his cinema. The final few minutes pack a lot of emotion in what could have been a purely exploitational moment. The song that Michael plays during the film sounds like Kris Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through the Night.” In a way, this seemed like the kind of film you’d want to see Kristofferson making in the ’70s. Johnnie To is a well-rounded filmmaker and not a genre specialist.
I shouldn’t say that it is unusual for an action director to make romance movies. While listening to Ken Reid’s TV Guidance Counselor podcast, adult star Ryan Keely mentioned that a lot of the directors of Lifetime movies had made Erotic Thrillers back in the ’90s.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfer is great. You’ll see the snow fall on the resort. The Audio is Cantonese 5.1 DTS-HD MA. There’s also a 2.0 DTS-MD MA mix. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary by Dylan Cheung gets into how the film deals with both the end of love and the start of love between people.
Ryker Chan (14:59) lets the screenwriter talk about collaborating with Johnnie To on the film. He had one a short film competition in 2007 and went six month without a job when he was contacted by Johnnie To with a job offer. The production company wanted Andy Lau for the lead and Mount Fuji for the location.
Another Side of Johnnie To (28:13) lets Hong Kong film expert Sean Gilman give a deeper understanding of the director’s romantic titles. Turns out his love stories are To’s biggest hits in Hong Kong box office.
Behind the Scenes Footage (25:15) shows how snowy it got on location. There’s a better
Making-Of Featurettes (9:06) show off the beautiful location and dealing with the thin air of the mountain location. Sammi Cheng talks about working with Johnnie To.
Trailer (0:35) captures a bit of the romance.
Illustrated Booklet with essays on the film.
Radiance Films present Romancing In Thin Air: Limited Edition. Directed by Johnnie To. Screenplay by Wai Ka-Fai, Yau Nai-Hoi, Ryker Chan & Jevons Au. Starring Louis Koo, Sammi Cheng, Li Guangjie, Gao Yuanyuan, Wang Baoqiang, Huang Yi as Barbara, Tien Niu & Wilfred Lau. Running Time: 112 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: April 21, 2026.
