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Starring
:
Leo
Koo
Shu
Qi
Anita
Chan
Sam
Lee
Eric
Tsang
Producer
:
Gordon
Chan
Director
:
Dante
Lam
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WHEN
I LOOK UPON THE STARS (1999)
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
In
one of his rare impulsive moments, young designer Kei decides
to fly over to Tokyo to see his girlfriend June. The time
they've spent apart has been helped by their communication
through e-mail - or so Kei thinks. On arriving in Japan, he
travels to see his betrothed but finds her to be somewhat
cold. Totally oblivious to any changes in their relationship,
Kei happily continues to shower his girlfriend with the
closest thing he knows to affection. Only when he takes her
out with his best friend Sam does he discover that the two
people he trusted the most are actually in love. Angered and
heartbroken, the jilted man finds his life turned upside down
and all of his carefully ordered plans ruined. Deep in this
period of misery he decides to contemplate his life over a cup
of coffee in one of Tokyo's cafes. While drowning his sorrows
with a caffeine fix, Kei meets quirky and bubbly aspiring
model Kiki and reluctantly tells her his tale of woe. The
ever-cheerful Kiki proposes a novel solution to her new
friend's problem: for twenty-four hours they will have a
romantic relationship and enjoy all the joys a normal couple
would. The very straight-laced Kei finds the prospect of a
fake girlfriend far from encouraging but, feeling he owes
something to Kiki, agrees to go along with this. The day-long
couple soon find that this is much more than a novelty and
that their respective feelings are beginning to be reawakened.
When Kei goes back to Hong Kong he is torn between his very
brief romance with Kiki and whatever normality he once had;
will the designer who prides himself on logic follow his head
or his heart?
After
proving his worth with action films like 'Option Zero' and the
award-winning thriller 'Beast
Cops', director Dante Lam showed audiences his softer side
with this romantic drama. Aside from its failings, 'When I
Look Upon The Stars' is an interesting sign of Lam's
determination not to be pigeon-holed in one genre. The various
inadequacies of this production will be mentioned later, but
first there's definite reason to applaud the film's
culminative effect. Leo Koo is not given a very magnetic
character to play, but succeeds in drawing out Kei's eventual
qualities; by the end the audience almost forgets how cold he
initially was. As Kei's treacherous friend, Sam Lee manages to
once again give indication of the kind of star quality he
undoubtedly has. Even in a slightly unsympathetic role, Lee is
watchable and makes sure that his kooky image is done no harm.
Unusually though, the real praise for most of the strengths is
Shu Qi who plays Kiki with real aplomb. With her dreaded
Cat-III image long since shaken off, films like 'The
Storm Riders' and this have given her a chance to show how
charming she can be. Oozing a confidence and cheeriness that
makes her a pleasure to watch, Shu Qi can be rightfully proud
of her work in this film.
It's
certainly not all good news about 'When I Look Upon The Stars'
as there are some frustrating moments that nearly ruin all its
qualities. Sadly many of these must be placed on Dante Lam's
shoulders, though understanding that he was still learning his
craft. One major annoyance is Lam's need to drag out every
cheap stylistic trick in the book; the viewer is presented
with slow-mo, constant freeze frame and even monochrome. These
devices seem to be thrown in for no particular reason and they
only highlight the director's uncertainty when used so
clumsily. 'Jiang Hu - The Triad Zone' was evidence that Lam
managed to forge his own cinematic language soon after, but
here he undoes some of the success he'd achieved in the film.
'When I Look Upon The Stars' is mercilessly padded in many
areas and there are constant moments when the narrative almost
grinds to a halt. These attacks on the film are not intended
to undermine it all as it is still a very enjoyable romantic
drama. There are some touching scenes here that are very well
designed by Dante Lam. Importantly though this doesn't quite
excuse the overall inconsistencies.
Rating:
 
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