This delightful production shows that great acting, good script and effective directing are still the basis of good cinema. This film takes a life of its own and transports us effortlessly to a fairytale world where virtues and vices are greatly exaggerated and fantastical elements are smoothly incorporated with our mundane understanding of the world.
The writer/director Ka-Fai Wai and his fellow director Johnny To elected to play with subjectivity and let the audience continuously use its imagination. For instance, they chose to have the emperor played by a woman and allow for a mere mark on the face to be the symbol of utter ugliness. In that , and in all other aspects of the feature, they succeeded in maintaining the feel of a true fairytale. The sets and decor, the use of camera, the singing narration, and the over-the-top screenplay and acting all felt authentic to the genre. This respect of tradition is in fact the starting point of the ingenuity and originality of the movie.
The foundation of the movie lie in the hands of three potent actress who play their various parts to perfection. The intensity of the acting transcends even the language barrier. The versatility of Anita Mui is breathe-taking. Sammi Cheng plays the strong role of Wu Yen with conviction and intensity, while Cecilia Cheng plays the conniving enchantress so well that you literally hate her. Even the supporting actors add flare to the movie in their small roles, especially the emperor's cohort.
The script is of high quality with strong dialogue, witty humor (both subtle and overt), and a storyline full of surprised. Here again, Wai and Yau opted to keep the children story/fairytale feel with extravagant situations and moral implications prominent. This may feel a slight bit tedious as elements are repeated as if to emphasize points to a child, but it serves its purpose in involving us into the story and in keeping the package coherent in its aim and structure. Besides, the screenplay has enough steam to allow a few short, strategically placed, stagnating moments.
The only unfortunate thing about this movie is that I don't speak Cantonese. The dialogue is so rich that I am certain to have missed some extra nuances. Also, the subtitles are cut short just as the movie is ending to leave place to the credit. I found this very regretful and I urge anyone who understands the language to fill me in on what happens at the end (you can email me). I also hope that the DVD version might remedy that problem.
In conclusion, this movie is a humble masterpiece with an enormous amount of laughs, an interesting plot and an emotionally charged love story. Go see it!! (9/10)
