The great Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To is widely known for his compelling gangster dramas, with operatic gunfights, suspenseful drama and conflicting characters. But To is a skilled filmmaker in many different genres, and one of my favorite films of his is the excellent romantic comedy Don’t break my heartwhich he co-directed with Wai Ka-fai. It’s one of the best love triangle movies ever, and it’s a perfect movie to watch with someone you’re in love with this holiday season. And if you want to watch it, the clock is ticking: it’s leaving Netflix on December 1, and there’s currently no other way to watch it – there’s no way to rent or buy it digitally, no other streaming service has it, and physical releases range from ‘exorbitantly expensive’ to ‘hard to find’.
Starring three beautiful and charming people (a great basis for a romance), Don’t break my heart follows Chi-yan (Gao Yuanyuan), a recently single financial analyst who finds her heart being pulled between two competing suitors: a CEO (Louis Koo) who kept her afloat, and an architect (Daniel Wu) who got her back on her feet helps after going through a difficult time.
Both men are charming and gentle, but offer different qualities as potential partners: Koo’s CEO is more emotionally removed but offers financial stability, while Wu’s Architect is full of romantic longing but still picking up the pieces of his life. It’s understandable why the choice is difficult – this isn’t your typical ‘one good option, one bad’ love triangle story (and To uses the backdrop of a financial crisis to cleverly portray finding a life partner as an act of comparison in the free dating market). Individual viewers will have their own preference as to which partner she chooses, but you could see her being happy with either one. They also work, at different times, in the building opposite where Chi-yan works. That leads to one of Don’t break my heart‘s most charming touches: The characters flirt by sticking sticky notes on the large glass windows of their buildings, making smiley faces and sending messages to each other. The glass windows are also a great opportunity for one of the age-old rom-com tropes: confusion and miscommunication leading to hijinks.
The film is also often funny, with jokes, laugh-out-loud dialogue and physical comedy galore. Part His girl Fridaypart Play timeand all fun, Don’t break my heart is an excellent example of a generational director working at the height of his powers and absolutely mastering a genre.
Don’t break my heart can be streamed on Netflix until November 30.