| You need to learn to put up with this movie. Cultivate the patience, and you shall be rewarded with several unknown filmic pleasures. One of which comes from toying with Josephine Siao's screen persona. Transforming her into a roughie, and a woman getting on years but still harbors a weakness for men is, seriously, a challenge. Up to the scene where she takes on a gang of young hoods, the director and screenwriter seem to want Siao to appeal to a more grassroots audience. As calculation goes, it certainly pays off. The movie has many old tricks. For some reason, I (admitting it is entirely subjective) manage to see satires on gambling, young hoods and incurable diseases all popular themes in Hong Kong cinema. Yuen Kwai has a sense of uncontrollable tragedy that can become disastrous if it gets excessive; luckily there is Josephine Siao to save the day. |