| May (Maggie Poon) and her brother (Woody Chan) are separated as young when she is adopted by a family (mother and father are essayed by Carrie Ng and Hui Siu-Hung). However the bond is strong and the two won't be apart for long, even if it means crawling into and living in a confined, dark place the rest of your life...
Soi Cheang (Love Battlefield) occupied himself early on directing Digital Video movies, achieving acclaim for his debut Our Last Day. Diamond Hill represents the step forward as most of the production is shot on film with the DV look being reserved for flashbacks.
The premise is slightly far fetched (as you will find out by watching the film, not just by reading my synopsis) and the low-budget look for a while feels like a hindrance. Soi does grasp the audience quickly, giving us ventures into horror but primarily, a sweet little tale of poignant bonds of love between sister and brother. That's really the only thought that runs through Diamond Hill but it doesn't have to be anything else than that. With quirky touches visually and generally affecting performances, Diamond Hill succeeds (also thanks to composer Tommy Wai and DOP Lam Wah-Chuen's splendid work) in giving us something fresh at almost no cost.
Cheung Tat-Ming co-stars as a thief who shoots all his break-in's on DV and the late Joe Lee briefly appears. |
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