"A boy and a girl who hardly know each other sit next to each other. What happens next? Well... Love of course."
Such a dreamy film, set next to such a dirty river. Enigmatic for sure, with a story within a story, mysterious identities, and the essence of true love seeming to contain at least a little obsession. I wasn't crazy about a teenage girl being the lover, but Zhou Xun showed a lot of range and is wonderful here. The shocking moments of betrayal in the story are well-done by Lou Ye, but the misdirection used to conflate the two women seemed a little manipulative. Then again, maybe if you've loved someone and lost them, you start seeing them in the faces of others. The love of the courier (Jia Hongsheng) is quite a contrast to that of the videographer/narrator (Hua Zhongkai), a man who forms attachments, but is of the belief that love doesn't last. Be willing to "find me if you love me," the woman says, and be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, reflecting a grand yet tragic kind of romance. What a double feature it would make with In the Mood for Love, from the same year.
Such a dreamy film, set next to such a dirty river. Enigmatic for sure, with a story within a story, mysterious identities, and the essence of true love seeming to contain at least a little obsession. I wasn't crazy about a teenage girl being the lover, but Zhou Xun showed a lot of range and is wonderful here. The shocking moments of betrayal in the story are well-done by Lou Ye, but the misdirection used to conflate the two women seemed a little manipulative. Then again, maybe if you've loved someone and lost them, you start seeing them in the faces of others. The love of the courier (Jia Hongsheng) is quite a contrast to that of the videographer/narrator (Hua Zhongkai), a man who forms attachments, but is of the belief that love doesn't last. Be willing to "find me if you love me," the woman says, and be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, reflecting a grand yet tragic kind of romance. What a double feature it would make with In the Mood for Love, from the same year.