Film pick: Beijing Love Story (NC16)

Five interconnected stories about love unfold, mostly in modern-day Beijing.

Chen Feng (Chen Sicheng) falls in love with Shen Yan (Tong Liya) and woos her even though she is out of his league.

Chen's boss Wu Zheng (Wang Xuebing) is a philanderer with a long-suffering wife Zhang Lei (Yu Nan).

She finds out and then meets up with Liu Hui (Tony Leung Ka Fai).

Liu is later seen seemingly on a rendezvous with Jialing (Carina Lau, below right) in Greece. Liu objects to his teenaged daughter Xingyang (Ouyang Nana) taking part in a talent show on television but Song Ge (Liu Haoran), who has a crush on her, has a plan to make that happen.

Finally, Song's grandfather Wang Daqi (Wang Qingxiang) is being set up on blind dates by Gao Lu (Siqin Gaowa). Wang seems to hit it off with Xie Aijia (Elaine Jin), who gets upset when she finds out who Gao really is.

The segment featuring Hong Kong-based stars Leung and Lau takes place on a Greek island and does not fit into the theme spelt out in the title.

It is also the weakest tale of the lot. Apart from this misstep, the rest of the vignettes offer interesting snapshots of the different stages of relationships.

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