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FINAL
ROMANCE
AKA:
N/A
Year:
2001 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
Before
gaining worldwide acclaim for his work as co-director on the
'Infernal Affairs' trilogy, Alan Mak was already showing signs
that he was a film-maker to watch. Though hardly deviating
from the typical blue-print of a romantic drama, 'Final
Romance' shows how the director has that noble ability of
taking tried-and-tested elements and infusing them with
renewed zest.
It
was one year ago that a young Chinese woman was killed in a
tragic car crash in the snowy Japanese mountains and now, her
sister Jean (Strang), sets out to the same area to burn her
ashes. Accompanied by her stroppy companion, Jean finds that
events conspire against her plan and her rented car breaks
down in the middle of a mountain road. Thankfully fellow
Chinese travellers Dik (Chen) and his loyal friend (Lee) see
the ladies' plight and manage to fix their car, sending them
safely onto their destination. Little does Jean know that Dik
is actually the brother of the other victim of the dreadful
accident and has also decided to honour his sibling in a
special way. When both Jean and Dik realise their connection
to each other, a gentle friendship begins that very gradually
develops into a tenuous romance. Unfortunately Jean's
over-protective uncle (Yam) discovers her romance with a
'mere' aspiring racing driver and, when she returns from
holiday, arranges an engagement for her with an ambitious
doctor. While true love has a way of bubbling to the surface,
the uncle is willing to use any means necessary to 'protect'
his niece.
While
'Final Romance' is sign-posted and constructed in the way that
nearly every genre film is, Alan Mak has achieved something
quite different with this production. What is immediately
noticeable is that Mak paces the narrative in a very delicate
way, choosing to build the romance between his leads rather
than just rely on 'big scenes' to do the work for him. This is
especially effective because, even though we are always aware
that the two will fall in love, the journey proves to be as
satisfying as the destination. Only in the final twists of the
last thirty minutes does the pace become a little irregular,
but not to a detrimental degree.
Another
feature that helps this relatively obscure film make its mark
is the exotic (by Hong Kong film standards) Japanese setting
that features for the first hour. Snow-capped mountains and
Japanese log cabins add a certain allure to the production, an
aspect that will make even the tiredest of eyes a tad more
attentive. Though the final act reverts to a Hong Kong setting
that seasoned viewers will find instantly recognisable, it
still retains an air of subtle individuality in its look.
'Final
Romance' could perhaps be accused of becoming a little
over-ambitious in its closing third, but rather the
willingness to extend a vision than the tired contentment of
just keeping to certain generic conventions. Mak also squeezes
some charisma out of Edison Chen - not such an easy feat at
this early point in Chen's checkered career. Chen is still
devoid of what could be called 'range', but his performance as
Dik is at least fitting for the film. Sam Lee is a far more
confident performer than his colleague and lends
scene-stealing support, but the lead couple generate enough
warmth to keep interest alive.
Alan
Mak is finally getting the budgets that his skills deserve and
it will be intriguing to see what route he takes following the
monstrous success on the 'Infernal Affairs' trilogy. While
waiting for these future productions, there's worse ways to
spend 90 minutes than looking back on the early signs of his
potential.
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