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Consisting of nine self-contained episodes commemorating the first decade after Hong Kong’s handover, A Decade of Love makes for a pleasant, but largely forgettable, whole.

Opening with Aubrey Lam’s melancholic Old Peak Road, the film opts to start on a restrained note rather than a bang. Just as well, kudos to Lam for coming up with some truly picture postcard views of Victoria Harbour, Paris je t'aime style.

As can be expected from a short film collection, the tone and quality fluctuate from one episode to the next: while some are filled with human interest (Chan’s Red Egg on the Road) others border on the clichéd (Mak’s embarrassingly melodramatic A Dream of Hope).

While Wong’s Qing Fang and Yeung’s The Last Bid both tackle love relationships – on the transient and materialistic types, respectively – to less-than-exciting results, Chang’s Far Away Eyes and Lee’s and Szeto’s one-take episode Open Rice are both punctuated by clever dialogue.

The real delights in the package come in the forms of Yuen’s Paper Papa and Lam Wah-chuen’s Rock Lion Rock. Whereas Yuen’s surreal story is full of childish fun, Lam’s, which nonsensically reveals the ‘true identities’ of the Lion Rock Mountain and the Victoria Peak, demonstrates an insight into Hong Kong’s essence.

On the whole, what keeps A Decade of Love from leaving a lasting impression is its lack of a memorable recurring theme: despite its title, the film is only loosely about love, and hardly about Hong Kong’s past decade – in fact, the concept of a ‘decade’ is so undetectable throughout that it’s almost comical when one character awkwardly proclaims, “it’s been ten years…”. Edmund Lee

Dir Wong Ching-po, Lam Wah-chuen, Chang Wai-hung, Toe Yuen, Aubrey Lam, Mak Chi-sin, Chan Wing-chiu, Takkie Yeung, Lee Kung-lok, Szeto Kam-yuen, Category I, 110 mins, Now showing