Romancing in Thin Air Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Romancing in Thin Air Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 15, 2026

Johnnie To may be best known to Western audience for action oriented fare, but in the case of Romancing in Thin Air he may be trafficking more in what might be jokingly called Misery as reimagined as a Hallmark Channel movie. Michael Lau (Louis Koo) is the very model of a modern multimedia superstar, to the point that he (of course) documents every moment of his life for consumption on social media. His supposed fairy tale wedding to his equally famous co-star Ding Yuanyuan (Gao Yuanyuan) gets "cancelled" (in both senses of that term, since it is of course being broadcast) when the would be bride takes off with her commoner first love Zhang Xing (Wang Baoqiang).

That sends Michael into an absolute tailspin where he drinks way too much, which then leads to an unexpected "vacation" of sorts at a high altitude lodging called the Deep Woods Hotel, where he "meets cute" with the facility's owner, Sau (Sammi Cheng). Sau is in her own way recovering from trauma, but in a kind of odd sidebar (which relates to the perhaps unexpected allusion to a certain Stephen King property, above) turns out to be "Michael's biggest fan", which both personalizes the story but also introduces a kind of patently off kilter feeling power dynamic between the two.

The story here relies on a number of supposedly revelatory flashbacks that help to fill in some backstory involving Sau and her husband, whose fate is part and parcel of that aforementioned trauma Sau is experiencing. There are further tethers developed between Sau and Michael, and some may seem a bit reminiscent of the treaclier aspects of Steven Spielberg's Always. The film is generally incisive when it comes to addressing trauma and healing, but it simply can't quite escape an overheated melodramatic ambience, and a late attempt to introduce a "meta" twist courtesy of Michael's film stardom may actually deprive the film of some of the emotional power it seems to be aiming for.

Romancing in Thin Air Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Romancing in Thin Air is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Radiance's insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:

Romancing in Thin Air was transferred in high definition by Media Asia Films and supplied to Radiance Films as a high definition digital file. The film is presented in the original aspect ratio with 5.1 and 2.0 audio options.

I'm not always a fan of these "pre delivered" masters, though overall this presentation has more positives than negatives. As may be able to be gleaned from some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, rather large swaths of the story can take place in pretty dimly lit, sometimes outright nighttime, locations, and the almost cobalt blue grading that accompanies some of these sequences can at least marginally depleted detail levels. Better lit moments, which tend to include at least some of the flashback material, offer substantially better fine detail levels on practical items like sets and costumes. There are occasional moments of grandeur in the quasi Shangri La moments, but this is probably better thought of as an intimate two hander than some sort of epic visual feast. While grain is observable and generally organic looking, some moments had a slightly processed look, mostly in brighter lit moments.

Romancing in Thin Air Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Romancing in Thin Air features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 options. The surround track nicely opens up the soundstage in the many mountainous sequences, but even throughout some of the flashback material, and the side and rear channels are appealingly engaged with ambient environmental sounds. Minimalist piano underscore may frankly not gain an immense amount in the surround version, but sounds clear and undistorted throughout. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.

Romancing in Thin Air Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Dylan Cheung


• Ryker Chan (HD; 14:59) is a new interview with the screenwriter. Subtitled in English.


• Another Side of Johnnie To (HD; 28:13) is a new visual essay by Sean Gilman which looks at the perhaps underrecognized category of To romantic melodramas.


• Behind the Scenes Footage (HD*; 25:15) is an edited compilation that was originally compiled for the 2012 Hong Kong Blu-ray release.


• Making Of Featurettes (HD; 9:06) were also released on the 2012 Hong Kong Blu-ray.


• Trailer (HD; 00:35)

*720

Radiance's insert booklet has two interesting essays by David Bordwell and Jake Cole. The keepcase sleeve is reversible and features Radiance's Obi strip.

Romancing in Thin Air Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you're going to watch a veritable Hallmark Movie, it might as well be one directed by someone with To's elegance and skill, right? That said, this film's ultimate thesis that somehow happy endings in (Hallmark?) movies can supplant real life tragedies may be a bridge too far for some. Technical merits are generally solid and Radiance has assembled some appealing supplements for this release. Recommended.