Anna Magdalena: Viewer Comments

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Anna Magdalena
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Rating, Out Of 5 Stars

-ladynka (see my profile)

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Anna Magdalena boasts a cast of commercial powerhouses, the three main stars being Aaron Kwok, Kelly Chen, and Takeshi Kaneiro. One would expect a very commercially formulaic film, but halfway through it takes a detour from commercial and as the name itself suggests, this is no ordinary Hong Kong love story from that point on.

The plot revolves around Takeshi, Aaron, and Kelly's love triangle. Aaron and Kelly for a good deal of the movie attempt to consummate a relationship, while Takeshi waits in the wings, happy for his quirky offbeat friend but at the same time wanting to kill him (strangle sequence; hilarious stuff!) for ruining his chances.

This is told in a very conventional way. Not until the second half kicks in is the theme of the story more clear -- that we all have a love, whether we find it and consummate it is entirely left up to both fate and chance, as Aaron was Kelly's love (half-consummated) and Kelly was Takeshi's love (unconsummated). Aaron represents the freewheeling soul never meant to love fully, and just as Kelly is Takeshi's unfulfilled dream, Aaron is Kelly's.

This is explained in the second-half of the movie, and it is such a twist from the conventional first half that I wondered if I popped in another VCD by accident when changing to disc two. However traditional the first half is, the second half is not -- it is outright quirky, humorous, and philosophical -- and it works.

The entire movie is very well-acted, from Aaron's goofy annoying but lovable character to Takeshi's bookworm, except for Kelly Chen's lukewarm rigid performance. The second half especially has beautiful cinematography, with gothic atmosphere while at the "castle" and vibrant, poetic imagery in the meadow while Takeshi waxes on philosophically. The 2nd half's premise is from pure imagination, and it works magically. All in all, the characters lovableness and subsequent humor, and half-original script makes this movie a delight for the eyes, mind, and heart.

-Lordmanji

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THE reference standard for HK DVD releases, as far as I'm concerned. Picture quality is excellent. Sound is excellent, remixed from analog 4-channel Dolby SR (which is what was on theatrical prints) to Dolby Digital 5.1 with no ill effects. Only complaint would be two or three dropped lines of subtitles from the beginning of the "Variations" section of the film - but they're minor lines, cracking on Takeshi Kaneshiro's character's poor spelling. Great movie as well. This is a must-have DVD.

-Monk

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