2.5/5 stars A morally dubious coming-of-age story that is breezily and almost frivolously told, Blossoms Under Somewhere sets out to paint an edgy portrait of two Hong Kong schoolgirls who sell their used underwear online, only to struggle to back it up with believable conflicts or relatable character development. Marf Yau Yin-tung stars as Ching, a model student at a prestigious secondary school who is quietly drowning in the solitude brought on by her lifelong struggle with a stutter, her mother’s perpetual absence from home, and the fickle attention from her best and only friend, Rachel (Sheena Chan Shu-yan).
While Rachel sells second-hand lingerie to fund her own luxury spending, Ching follows her friend’s business model not for the money – she lives alone in a spacious and tastefully decorated flat – but for the flimsy sense of connection she craves while flirting with her customers through text messages. Ching’s only regular human contact is Ben (Shin Cheung Yuk-hin), the friendly courier who has a habit of opening his clients’ packages. Meanwhile, foolishly, her yearning to be loved sees her pine for Gabriel (Adam Pak Tin-nam), a handsome university professor who has been buying her underwear for a year.
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