danielemerson

Do you have to know who the daffy aristocrat turned pulp romance conveyor belt Barbara Cartland was to enjoy this? I'm not sure you do.

A young Helena Bonham Carter heads a surprisingly high-quality cast (and Gareth Hunt) in a story that everybody involved knew from the start was a preposterous bodice-ripper. Knowing this, they have fun, with some tremendously over-ripe performances.

If you're into authentic period drama, run screaming for the hills. This is a "two bottles of Lambrini" honker that's a lot of fun once you adopt the necessary mindset.

This is a review of the English-dubbed version, and I'm sorry, but the voices aren't a great fit to the characters. However, the film as a whole is intriguing and beautiful. It also gets a little unsettling at times, but in a good way.

One shortcoming common to all versions, however, is the lack of facial individuality of the characters. They don't show much in the way of expressions and when they do, they are a bit samey.

But this is still something I'd recommend on the whole. A leisurely trip through a very strange galaxy.

I first saw Fong Sai Yuk 1 & 2 years ago, and loved their mix of martial arts, wire-work and farcical humour. Jet Li is a fine leading man, playing the happy-go-lucky, but somewhat conceited Fong Sai Yuk, with all the scintillating moves you'd expect. This would make for a good movie on its own, but Josephine Siao as his formidable but eccentric mother effortlessly steals every scene she's in and takes it all to a different level. The supporting cast are fully committed to the deranged gusto of the whole thing, especially Chen Sung-Young. Both Fong Sai Yuk movies will thrill and entertain.