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Review
by Kozo: |
Director Peter Chan’s heartfelt story of two mainlanders
caught in predestiny’s web is an incredibly moving film
and one of the top films of the year. It's also the
return of Hong Kong's best actress, the luminous Maggie
Cheung, who's been absent from HK film since 1994.
Li Xiao-Jun (Leon Lai) is a
newly-immigrated Mainlander who comes to Hong Kong in
1986 to make money for his family back in Wusih. Lost
at first, he comes to befriend local girl Chiao (Maggie
Cheung), a fervent moneymaker who shuns friends to make
money. She hooks Xiao-Jun up with an English class (for
a small finder's fee) to better his chances of landing
a job. Despite her initial reservations, the two become
friends as Chiao uses Xiao-Jun as an employee for her
money-making projects. As fate would have it, the two
become best friends and casual lovers, which is a problem
since Xiao-Jun has a fiancée back in Wusih.
The two vow to stay only friends,
which seems easy as their lives prosper. However, when
financial slowdown sets in, things take a turn for the
worse. Chiao turns to working in a massage parlor for
cash, and comes to question her "friendship"
with Xiao-Jun. Eventually the two part. Xiao-Jun brings
his fiancee, Xiao-Ting (newcomer Kristy Yeung), to Hong
Kong, and Chiao eventually takes up with local triad
boss Pao (Eric Tsang). However, despite their best efforts,
their fates cross again and the two find themselves
questioning their earlier choices.
Peter Chan brings the same
respectful touch to this film that he does his others,
but he holds back from the sentimentality of Age
of Miracles or the lurid exposition of Who's
the Woman, Who's the Man. Comrades, Almost a
Love Story is a UFO production, but it's also the
most restrained UFO production ever. Instead of getting
the pithy platitudes or existential musings that UFO
is famed for, we get a fleshed-out, complete story about
two people who struggle not to fall in love.
Furthermore, the film's exposition
doesn't play like exposition. It arises from the struggles
and characters and not from the pen of an ambitious
screenwriter. Ivy Ho's script is rich with wonderful
details that draw upon the culture and the history of
recent Hong Kong. She eventually falls upon movie-like
clichés to bring the film full circle, but the plot
devices don't feel like plot devices.
One could accuse the film of
a Hollywood-like glossiness (the usual complaint about
UFO), but to do so would be a disservice to the filmmakers
and the actors. Maggie Cheung is simply wonderful in
this movie; her luminous screen presence has been sorely
missed. Leon Lai turns in probably his best performance
ever. He's still somewhat wooden, but he seems to inhabit
a real character this time, and not some variation on
himself. Always one of Hong Kong's strongest actors,
Eric Tsang is excellent here as Pao. He plays a character
type, but he imbues him with personality and believable
depth.
Destiny is apparently a force
that fascinates Hong Kong, which is understandable as
they’ve felt themselves swept along by the river of
history, with little or no control over their eventual
fate. With the specter of 1997 hanging over Hong Kong,
the film's themes seem especially resonant. However,
calling Comrades, Almost a Love Story a political
metaphor would be a disservice to the film. It's an
affecting story with real characters, and a movie that
Hong Kong should be proud of. (Kozo 1996/1998) |
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