What I would do to just be able to smoke again. I would probably die 10 years from now. But they'd be such a happy 10 years, perhaps the happiest 10 years ever experienced ad infinitum.

Definitely miss smoking but I think I've quit this time for good. Every day I had smoking to look forward to, always there for me, never letting me down, yelling at me, or complaining that I'm tired and don't want to do that. It's as if the people at Smoking are saying that if something's there for you and it never lets you down it will take up a significant portion of your income, make you smell really bad, and slowly kill you over the years. That's messed up.

Chi ming yu chun giu (Love in a Puff) (Fantasia Fest 2010)

The smoke break: an integral component of working life. While smoking, stories and anecdotes are condensed and shared so that everyone can revel in their culture's 'inflammatory' gossip. Just one smoke: no. Make that two smokes? Definitely. And three? From time to time, when the narrative permits and you don't have to worry about your boss austerely reprimanding you for taking two or three minutes extra. Ho-Cheung Pang's Love in a Puff introduces us to several of Hong Kong's unrepentant smokers, gleefully enjoying their cigarettes and corresponding volatile friendships. While smoking, two smokers grow romantically attached. Advertising executive Jimmy (Shawn Yue) has just broken up with his girlfriend and Cherie (Miriam Yeung) is stuck in a predictable and lacklustre relationship. They take things slow, cautiously getting to know each other, and a number of lighthearted situations unreel, cohesively linked by the act of smoking. I was more interested in the gossip and felt that when the film switched its predominant focus to Jimmy and Cherie's relationship and didn't include scenes with the other characters having related discussions, Chi ming yu chun giu lost part of its allure. But it's still a subtle, playful, well rounded examination of a couple falling in love, lighting up their seductive friendship to reinvigorate present circumstances.