|
Cast:
Charlie
Yeung
Nicky
Wu
Carrie
Ng
Elvis
Tsui
Lau
Shun
Director:
Tsui
Hark
Score:
  
|
THE
LOVERS
AKA:
Butterfly Lovers ||
Leung & Chuk
Year:
1994 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
Tsui
Hark, a director who has managed to infuse most of his work
with his own original spark, turns his attention to a
classical Chinese Opera that focuses on the doomed love of the
eponymous 'Lovers'. Of course, the aforementioned spark and
renowned visual opulence are clearly present throughout.
Although
her wealthy and socially ambitious family are arranging her
marriage, Chuk Ying Toi's (Yeung) general lack of academic
savvy persuades them to send her to college first. Her mother
reveals that she too went to college for an education in the
past, but had to go disguised as a young man to pass through
the stringent rules. Chuk's parents therefore put the marriage
on hold and send their daughter to one of China's finest
schools of learning to refine her intellect. Soon after
arriving, Chuk meets one of the head teachers who instantly
notices her secret and takes the young student under her wing.
This means that Chuk sleeps in the library, away from the male
students, and continues to keep her real identity a secret.
While sleeping one night in her impromptu bedroom, she meets
eager scholar Leung Saan Ang (Wu) and quickly forms a firm
friendship with him. Over the next few months the pair go
through thick and thin together with Leung still blissfully
unaware of his best friend's secret persona. However, after
spending a night trapped in a cave together, Leung discovers
who Chuk really is and then falls in love with her soon after.
Unfortunately for the lovers, Chuk's arranged marriage is
looming and her parents do not take kindly to her stubborn
resistance to the upcoming wedding. The parents decide to
stamp their authority on the proceedings and forbid the lovers
to meet, therefore testing the strength of their resolve.
It's
not necessary to be familiar with the original Chinese Opera
to appreciate 'The Lovers'; it operates in much the same way
as many bittersweet Hong Kong love stories do. However, it is
important to understand the way that such films vary tone and
content so frequently within their duration. 'The Lovers' is
no exception, the first hour being devoted to a fairly
light-hearted atmosphere while the final forty minutes
gradually turn tragic. It is this final section that proves to
be the main reason for watching 'The Lovers' though as the
previous sixty minutes fail to engage the viewer in the way
they should. The development of the actual love between Chuk
and Leung is given very little time and thus lacks some
overall cohesion. Visually though, Tsui Hark continues to
paint strong cinematic pictures with his liberal use of
inventive filtered lighting and superb cinematography. Charlie
Yeung also proves to be a major asset to the production,
offering up a spellbinding performance that is another
reminder of why Hong Kong cinema desperately needs her return
to the screen.
Despite
'The Lovers' undoubted quality, it proves to be short of the
magic that it often hints at. Parts of this film therefore
prove to be greater than it as a whole.
|
