The movie couldn't totally reflect the depth of the original novel. In the original novel, Laoyuen is the guy who didn't want to settle down and full of hesitation about the relationship with Liuso.

Liuso was the woman who sought for the psychological shelter which can protect her from the harm of family pressure due to the failure of her first marriage and financial contribution to her family. She would like to get the certainty for the relationship from Laoyuen but she dare not to tell her real feeling to him due to the social pressure? (most probably) At the time of the story background, women even have to suffer all of their sorrow without any complaint even the life was really difficult. Liuso was in paradox: on the one hand, she have to suffer all of sorrow without complaints and on the other hand, she sought for the breakthrough for her life.

Miao could take her part to interpret the sentiment of Liuso but the acting skill was unnatural.

Chow could reflected the characters and attitudes of Laoyuen: easy-going, unstable, irresponsible and hesitating.

The presentation skills of the conversation are weak. Supposed the conversation should be presented in serious tone but Chow made it just like a comedy (a bit like Stephen Chau's style of pretending serious at the time of talking joke).

LOVE IN A FALLEN CITY is a sweet Hong Kong romantic drama set at the time of the Japanese invasion. The film tells of the developing relationship between two contrasting characters, Cora Miao's self-determined thirtysomething woman, and Chow Yun-Fat's westernised playboy. Their story is depicted against a backdrop of turmoil in which Hong Kong's almost decadent society, heavily indebted to British colonial rule, was about to be torn down by the invasion of the violent Japanese troops. The dialogue is rather obtuse in the subtitled version I watched which makes the characterisation hard to work out, although Yun-Fat displays some of that boyish charm that would see him achieve colossal super-star status in just a few years' time. Interesting, this film was made as a collaboration between the famous Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest studios. It's a pity it wasn't better.