One of the candidates for the title Mr. Commercial Cinema, Joe Ma certainly has the chops to adhere to that way and tradition. But those of us expecting something more from the man who early on gave us The Golden Girls, Over The Rainbow, Under The Skirt while later striking drama gold with Funeral March do cheer when Ma veers from risk-free investments. Embrace Your Shadow seems welcome then and being the second effort from Fiona Sit who served up a smashing debut performance in 2 Young, a stage is set. When they enter, what's on show then? A Joe Ma showcase where he's aiming far, far away from any Feel 100% or Love Undercover esthetics. However to push buttons in a genre he seems well versed in when trying doesn't mean they stay down.

Containing a lot to ponder in its English title, Embrace Your Shadow sees Ma embrace the quiet, contemplating language of cinema that combined with genuine heart and character worked so well for him in Funeral March. This time around his effectiveness isn't as thorough but represents quite a lot above and beyond of what he dares to be capable of on a constant basis. Lensed absolutely beautifully by Cheung Man-Po (Flash Point) where the usage of detailed colour within a clear looking, accessible frame is often mesmerizing, we witness Ma direct fragments from the daily life of Fiona Sit's Ran. Not knowing why she has such a heavy workload and why all alone to tend to her paralyzed brother and his daughter, we face our first struggle to accept Fiona Sit in an even more challenging role than in 2 Young. Because here's a very young actress playing a character carrying burdens and a fear of suffering the same fate as her brother. But you easily flip your critique-coin to the side that says it's potentially very fitting that Sit doesn't look the part as it's a girl thrown into circumstances she's not fit for. Whether or not she'll develop in it is the question. But we do feel comfortable knowing director Ma has no intentions of raking in bucks but to tell a story.

When planting little Siaoyou in the big, crumbling city and its sounds, the support and saviour literally jumps down in front of her and it's a thief to boot. Dylan Kuo's Juchin has the bitterness, romantic hero and heart sprayed all over him but it seems like an awfully big stretch to see him shower the poor family with a healthy dose of positivity as quick as he does. In 5 minutes in movie time it seems like we've spent an equal amount of minutes within the movie to transform the family. While we do feel the introduction of such a critical element stumbles, there is a genuine curiosity to want to experience Embrace Your Shadow. Not so much for the romance but for Ma's challenge towards himself to let a quietly, resting frame affect us. Effect is there, as well as themes, symbolism varying in degrees of pretentiousness but the insistency coming from the genuinely talented vein of Ma's makes us stick with it and ultimately it's not without its rewards.

Although projected from two movies down that Juchin's introduction, intrusion, imposing and also support in Ran's life carries with it tragedy painted in blood, the road we're on holds the argument from Ma and writer Lee Chun-Fai that doom can equal a step forward in someone's life here. Juchin never really effectively lets go of the demons haunting him or those out to haunt him in real life (triads) and is seemingly so inexperienced in the field of emotions that he doesn't keep out the innocent ones out of his missteps. But some innocent ones have already been dealt hurt pre-Juchin and when Cheung Kwok-Keung's story gets resolved, we get our first true tug at the heartstring and it's surprisingly not subtly planned out. Hurt can be manifested strongly, be very much deserved and veteran Cheung communicates well when he sees his family in the end turning their back completely. Although the script does oddly enough call for only Feng's wife to be held accountable. The rest of the family doesn't seem to exist anymore.

Not everything falls into place for Joe Ma then but the cinema choice and language is very welcome for his hybrid of romance, blood soaked sentimentality and some form of enlightenment about life. It doesn't mean good news for everyone involved and doesn't get spelled out effectively enough as we move closer to the end. But it's a challenging work Joe Ma has taken on and it's admirable that he's put a lot of heart into it. With newcomer Fiona Sit challenging herself once again and landing on the same mark director Ma does (not quite there but partly effective), here's hoping this duo doesn't get discouraged by the lack of commercial feedback for this type of venture. We'd like to feel and dig ourselves a little to find the true course of a film and Embrace Your Shadow teaches us exactly that, albeit only successfully in bits and pieces. You still don't run off and desperately do Love Undercover 3 however! Let's just hope it's just something to do while planning for a bright future because Joe Ma and Fiona Sit have magic to spread.

Some early press-ads for Joe Ma's drama were a reminder of how certain Hong Kong companies have little qualms about giving away massive chunks of a films plot. Instead of tantalising us with minor details, they revealed important plot twists, tragedies and even give a none-too-subtle hint as to how the film ends. Not that Joe Ma's 'Embrace Your Shadow' is anything new or startling in film-making; this is retro-cinema, a genre that recalls trends and moods of the past and transports them to a more contemporary setting. The pleasing fact is that, even though we've seen such dramas before in 'A Moment Of Romance' and its various clones, 'Embrace Your Shadow' is still affective enough in tugging the heart-strings. The manipulations and contrivances may be unoriginal, but they remain consistently emotive.

As is often the case with commercial cinema, the plot and the directions it takes are reasonably easy to telegraph as is the foreboding ambience that is as much a feature of Hong Kong drama as gun fights are with John Woo films. Joe Ma, though, is a director who can produce minor miracles from tired material, taking tired conventions and giving them enough humanity to help them to retain a potency. 'Funeral March' was a fine example of this unusual ability and, despite his lack of consistency in achieving these heights, 'Embrace Your Shadow' is a gruelling, yet rewarding 100 minutes that is a reminder of his skill. Though Ma has often favoured lazy retreads of his past hits or convenient cash-ins on current trends - two tendencies that explain why many are reluctant to credit him with any real directorial vision - he can also craft works of genuine quality. 'Embrace Your Shadow' is an old-fashioned tragedy, but Ma's execution here ensures an engrossing feature.

When familiarity with a subject or storyline is so strong, its success is dependent on the characters and the performers in the cast. The former are nothing extraordinary: there's the rebel without a clue figure that Andy Lau almost patented in the 80s and the ignorant savage who acts as his adversary, while the love interest in naturally the antithesis of her true love. Juchin is not an especially well written character and there is never much of an explanation as to why a young man from a wealthy family has ended up in a quagmire; Wah Dee in 'A Moment Of Romance' was such an intriguing anti-hero because we always knew about his inner-demons and the tragedies that forced him into such a nihilistic life, something that is never understood about Juchin. Kudos to Dylan Kwok for making us care about him then, an achievement that may not be down to his limited range, but certainly says much for his ability to convey hardship and privation. A few emotional scenes show that Kwok has a raw talent that could go either way depending on what roles come his way following this.

'Embrace Your Shadow' also confirms Fiona Sit as a young actress who has the intensity to do well in the industry, a fact not lost on critics after her performance in '2 Young'. As with the sorely-missed Anita Yuen, Sit has the knack of projecting a heart-breaking vulnerability with just a withering look, a feature that many more lauded actresses flounder on. Sit is given the best character and a chance to experience more emotions than her co-stars and the resulting performance is the fulcrum of the film's emotional ferocity. Sit affords her character dignity despite the miseries that are piled on her and features in a few especially powerful moments; the subtlety in which she shows her pain when her brother dies is a credit to actress and director alike.

Joe Ma wisely uses the glare of the lens sparingly, choosing to tell certain events of the storyline in off-kilter montages that retain a certain naturalism. We know we are being led to a predictable conclusion, but Ma makes sure that key scenes are treated with respect and not just the usual mixture of melodrama and deafening piano-laden soundtrack. In this way, 'Embrace Your Shadow' manages to be moving while sticking doggedly to established clichés, perhaps an oxymoron, but an achievement nonetheless. It's not flawless, it's not original and while these factors may scare off its prospective audience, it's still a production that is fused with genuine pathos.