How sad is this?

Good concept, poorly executed.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The beautiful Angelica Lee plays the title character, an acrobat in Shanghai who longs for love. A few men are interested in her, Chen (Zhang Yaoyang), who is her boss and video store clerk Ah Kang (Liu Ye). Mini falls for Ah Kang and at first it seems like a perfect choice. They have sweet moments together, they seem very happy together. However, he has a talent for picking pockets and gets caught stealing Chen's and goes to jail. Mini still loves him and visits him. The film, which started out as a romance, becomes more grim as time passes. The film was actually shot in Shanghai and makes good use of the skyline, especially at night. Ms. Lee has never been better and has probably never been prettier. She has beautiful dark eyes and a very sweet smile. Some of the scenes with her as the acrobat are great also. To tell you why I did not give this film a 9 or a 10 would be giving away the outcome of the film. If you're a fan of Ms. Lee, which I am, this film is definitely for you. If you like romance, this will hold your interest, even though its not necessarily a happy film. I do recommend it, it looks great and flows pretty well. Check it out.