When I Fall in Love...With Both (2000)



	When I Fall in Love...With Both		Return to Review Archive - W
	Year:	2000	Fann Wong and Theresa Lee
	Director:	Samson Chiu Leung-Chun
	Producer:	Derek Yee Tung-Sing
	Cast:	Michelle Reis (Lee Ka-Yan), Theresa Lee Yi-Hung, Fann Wong (Fan Man-Fong), Alex Fong Chung-Sun, David Wu (Ng Dai-Wai), Peter Ho Yun-Tung, James Chen Tung-Lung, Sean Chen Yuek-Fu, James Lye (Lai Hing-Cheung)
	The Skinny:	Commercial romantic drama from underrated director Samson Chiu proves to be an affecting, low-key alternative to the traditional HK fare.
	Review by Kozo:	Samson Chiu directs this UFO-like drama about three women who correspond over the Internet and share the same problem: all three are juggling two relationships. Fann Wong is a reporter who falls for a shy baker (Peter Ho) while she’s seeing her suave co-worker (James Lye). Meanwhile, Theresa Lee is about to marry, but falls for her fiancée's twin brother (the two are played by twins Sean and James Chen). And finally, Michelle Reis is stuck between Alex Fong and David Wu, though not in the same way the other two women are. While the story hardly seems original, the film manages to bring a sense of humanity to the stories of the three women. All three are distinct characters and all possess situations with their own unique pitfalls and complexities. The danger does exists that the film can become a sort of soapbox for women's issues of the week, but the filmmakers and actors handle the material with intelligence and dignity. When each woman is called upon to make the fateful decision (Is it Guy A or Guy B?), the results prove understandable, as the choices speak to each woman’s individual personality and not some arbitrary script need. The actresses all do a fine job of bringing those personalities out, with Michele Reis standing out as the strongest of the three. Some suspension of disbelief is required as the characters are probably more in touch with their feelings than any person truly is. Despite the mature handling of the subject matter, the script feels a bit too commercial at times. However, this is a worthy movie and probably one of the better movies out of HK this year. (Kozo 2000)
	Availability:	DVD (Hong Kong) Region 0 NTSC Universe Laser Widescreen Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks Dolby Digital 5.1 Removable English and Chinese Subtitles

		image courtesy of Universe Laser & Video Co., Ltd.
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