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Anna
Magdalena |
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review | awards | availability | |
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Kelly Chan, Aaron Kwok and Takeshi Kaneshiro in Anna
Magdalena |
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Year: |
1998 |
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Director: |
Yee Chung-Man |
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Cast:
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Takeshi
Kaneshiro, Aaron
Kwok Fu-Sing,
Kelly Chan Wai-Lam,
Eric Tsang Chi-Wai,
Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing,
Anita Yuen Wing-Yi, Jacky
Cheung Hok-Yau, Josie
Ho Chiu-Yi, Leo
Koo Kui-Kei |
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The
Skinny: |
Exactingly-staged romance/comedy/drama/fantasy
that surpasses its own pretensions to charm and entertain. |
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Review
by Kozo: |
Longtime production designer Yee Chung-Man makes his
directorial debut with this quirky, offbeat, but affecting
romantic drama. The title refers to Johann Sebastian
Bach's beloved minuet Anna Magdalena, which he wrote
for his wife.
Takeshi Kaneshiro is Chan Kar-Fu,
a piano tuner who befriends wandering would-be novelist
Yau Muk-Yan (Aaron Kwok). When Mok Man-Yee (Kelly Chan)
moves upstairs, a delicate love triangle forms. Fu truly
loves her, but can’t compete with the rough-hewn charm
of Yau Muk-Yan, who begins as Mok Man-Yee’s antagonist
but soon moves into her heart and apartment. Yau and
Yee’s love affair is a tempestuous one; Yau wears his
heart on his sleeve but Yee hides it, fearing rejection
and disappointment. While those two battle among themselves,
Fu becomes lovelorn and can only continue to pine from
afar.
At this point, the film has
done nothing more than display an effective, but distant
examination of Feel 100% love. The last third
of the film goes totally over the top, taking the film
into an entirely different realm. Fu submits his personal
expression of affection for Yee: a bizarre pulp novel
dubbed “The XO Pair.” It’s a cheesy fantasy about two
would-be Robin Hoods (played by Kaneshiro and Chan)
who attempt to deliver a message of love from a shadowy
recluse to a long unrequited love who happens to be
called Mok Man-Yee. What makes the final sequence so
deliriously enjoyable is the Brazil-like quality
to Fu’s fantasy. It tells through surreal comedy what
Fu could never say throughout the entire film: that
he loves Mok Man-Yee.
All this is a bit calculated,
but there is an undeniable charm and even magic to this
simple, but substantial examination of the expression
of love. This is a marvelously creative film that displays
the best of what Hong Kong Cinema currently offers,
with thoughtful production design, well-developed themes,
and charismatic stars. Takeshi Kaneshiro is muted as
Fu, but he gets to display his gift for pathetic charm
in the XO Pair sequence. Aaron Kwok turns in an effective
over-acting performance that cribs from Chow Yun-Fat’s
eighties repertoire. Though still an unskilled actress,
Kelly Chan has improved since her earlier work. She
has a luminous quality that works incredibly well on
film, especially during the XO Pair sequence, which
is the film's undeniable centerpiece. It’s so beautifully
shot and exactingly staged that it risks becoming cloying
and just plain inappropriate. Yet it’s the film’s ultimate
conceit and credit that it can shift gears so effortlessly—from
modern romantic comedy to whimisical fairy-tale fantasy—and
still stay within reach of its basic emotional center.
This is a decidedly different and wholly enjoyable Hong
Kong film. (Kozo 1998) |
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Awards: |
18th
Annual Hong Kong Film Awards
• Nomination - Best Cinematography (Peter
Pau Tak-Hei)
• Nomination - Best Art Direction (Poon Chi-Wai)
• Nomination - Best Costume Design (Ng Lei-Lo))
• Nomination - Best Original Score (Chiu Tsang-Hei)
5th Annual
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
• Recommended Film |
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Availability: |
DVD (Hong Kong)
Region 0 NTSC
Universe Laser
Widescreen
Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks
Dolby Digital 5.1
Removable English and Chinese Subtitles |
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image
courtesy of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society
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| LoveHKFilm.com
Copyright ©2002-2017 Ross Chen
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