| When I first saw the film on the big screen, back when I wasn't a film student and could only appreciate a movie through the acting, and storyline, I thought this is just an average film. Well, you have to admit that the story's a bit too predictable, and the whole "Romeo-Juliet-Phantom-of-the-Opera" thingy still kinda bugged me. However, upon viewing the film again as a film student now, I'm astounded by the beautiful cinematography --kinda brought me back to the good ol' days of HK cinema (surreal, beautiful films like "Green Snake", "Chinese Ghost Story", "Bride with White Hair"), unplagued by the obsession with special effects (which produced films which are no less cheesier, but not as beautiful, and yet just OVERLOADED with special effects eg. "A Man named Hero", the most recent "Legend of Zu").
The sepia colors used in the film provided a sad, yet nostalgic look to the film, and I just love the craning shots (used in the opera house, Yu Yan's house, and the banquet scene). The shot that took my breathe away, was the scene when Yu Yan first saw the young man when she heard him sing and mistook him for her lover. We see her standing among many people who were holding black umbrellas, their face shielded by the umbrellas in the rain, while Yu Yan dressed in red to contrast the black, her face resplendent, providing a stark contrast to the gloomy surrounding, as the camera cranes in on her. That shot is just beautiful, the umbrellas serving as an imagery for her isolation, and loneliness, but she held on to the hope of seeing her lover. The final scene when Leslie Chueng wiped her tears away, as he sung to her is pretty powerful too. The soundtrack is gorgeous too.
In summary, give this movie a chance. It's not too bad in comparison to a whole slew of bad movies that were produced in an era in which HK cinema is declining. Ronny Yu is a talented director, and hopefully he'll make more films, other than getting his talents wasted in films like "The Bride of Chucky". |
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