Love in a Puff

The best gossip, jokes and stories are passed on during cigarette breaks. Since a law banned smoking in all buildings in Hong Kong in 2007, nicotine addicts gather around public ashtrays that look like rubbish bins. It is round one of these 'Hot Pots' that cosmetics salesgirl Cherie meets her match in the cool Jimmy. After an exciting chat, they exchange telephone numbers. In the week that follows, they talk and text while enjoying dozens of ciggies, feel increasingly attracted to one another. Finally, a romance blossoms. Interviews in front of the camera about smoking habits and relationships and hilarious conversations around the Hot Pot are juxtaposed with this love story. Using naturalistic camerawork and relaxed lounge music, Pang Ho-cheung (Isabella) occasionally seems to approach the looseness of the French Nouvelle Vague, making Love in a Puff into a light-hearted, sparkling exception within his oeuvre.