Spoilers
Just to ensure that nothing is lost in translation, the Chinese title of Lost in Time, translated literally, is `Can't forget'.
Ten years ago, director Derek Yee's (Tung-shing) tender tear-jerker C'est la vie, mon cheri (1994) catapulted Miss Hong Kong Anita Yuen to instant stardom through her winning best actress in the Hong Kong equivalent of Academy Award. Ten years later, Yee did it again, this time with six-year veteran but still fresh looking Cecilia Cheung in Lost in Time. Lau Ching-wan is the significant other in both, not looking a day older now than before, regardless of whether he is perpetually young or was prematurely old.
How do the two movies compare?
Let's start with the story. C'est is a sweet romance in its purest tradition. The small hurdle, her mother's objection, is finally broken down by his sincerity. Lost in Time is much less of a sweet love story, and even at the end, the two aren't exactly sure but are willing to try. Here we see the development of a tender relationship (but not without bumpers) that wanders tantalisingly at the doorsteps of romantic love, carefully and caringly depicted, a more matured treatment compared to C'est.
I said Lau didn't change much, visually, in ten years. As to the two characters, while in both he plays an estranged spouse, Dai Fai in Lost in Time is more down-to-earth and mature. Kit in C'est is an angry artist coping out from the rat race, seeking refuge in self-imposed isolation and self-pity. Dai Fai, on the other hand, is a weathered mini-bus driver with a regrettable past, detached but not uncaring.
Yuen, like nearly every single Miss Hong Kong before her and after her, ended up in the `entertainment circle' (a favourite Hong Kong phrase). Probably more talented than many, she was nevertheless considered owing her instant success to landing a role that allowed her to basically `be herself', Min, a girl with an unquenchable spirit.
Cheung was not a beauty pageant contestant, which puts her in the minority among female stars. Discovered by comedy king Stephen Chow's talent scouts, she was cast as a prostitute in her debut, a daring move that pretty young things usually shun. This earned her the `best new-comer' award. She then continued to demonstrate that she can act. Six years later, she finally landed a role that won her best actress: Wai, a woman who has lost her husband to an accident struggling to survive with his six-year-old son from a previous marriage.
As to the rest of the cast, C'est has a star-stud support cast including Carina Lau, Fung Bo-bo, Chun Pui, Ng Ka-lai and Silvia Chang. And these are not cameo roles but all have an important part to play, although maybe a little bit less for Lau and Chang. With strong performances all around, C'est has an edge in this department. Lost in Time also has Chun Pui, plus Paw Hee-ching, playing Wai's parents. While Chun Pui's roles in the two movies, as Min's uncle and Wai's father respectively, carry about the same weight, top-notch actress Paw Hee-ching is wasted in Lost in Time. Louis Koo playing Wai's husband killed in an accident is very much a cameo appearance. But they have a secret weapon, darling Daichi Harashima from Japan, who practically steals the heart of every female audience, playing Wai's six-year-old son acquired from her husband's previous marriage.
The chief villain in C'est is cancer, and death. While under Yee's thoughtful direction, the ending is touching, it does not arise above melodrama. For Lost in Time, although the movie started with death, the chief villain is poverty. There are other obstacle in life too, but throughout the movie, there really isn't a crisis or climax as in C'est. Closest to one is Dai Fai's revelation to Wai of his delinquent past, how it drove his wife to desert him, taking their son with her. This revelation does not lead to anything earth shattering, but rather a sober re-assessment by Dai Fai and Wai of their relationship. The end is open-ended and upbeat, very much like that in one of my favourites last year, Taiwan's Blue Gate Crossing. As a life drama, Lost in Time is one notch above the melodrama C'est ten years ago.
Just to ensure that nothing is lost in translation, the Chinese title of Lost in Time, translated literally, is `Can't forget'.
Ten years ago, director Derek Yee's (Tung-shing) tender tear-jerker C'est la vie, mon cheri (1994) catapulted Miss Hong Kong Anita Yuen to instant stardom through her winning best actress in the Hong Kong equivalent of Academy Award. Ten years later, Yee did it again, this time with six-year veteran but still fresh looking Cecilia Cheung in Lost in Time. Lau Ching-wan is the significant other in both, not looking a day older now than before, regardless of whether he is perpetually young or was prematurely old.
How do the two movies compare?
Let's start with the story. C'est is a sweet romance in its purest tradition. The small hurdle, her mother's objection, is finally broken down by his sincerity. Lost in Time is much less of a sweet love story, and even at the end, the two aren't exactly sure but are willing to try. Here we see the development of a tender relationship (but not without bumpers) that wanders tantalisingly at the doorsteps of romantic love, carefully and caringly depicted, a more matured treatment compared to C'est.
I said Lau didn't change much, visually, in ten years. As to the two characters, while in both he plays an estranged spouse, Dai Fai in Lost in Time is more down-to-earth and mature. Kit in C'est is an angry artist coping out from the rat race, seeking refuge in self-imposed isolation and self-pity. Dai Fai, on the other hand, is a weathered mini-bus driver with a regrettable past, detached but not uncaring.
Yuen, like nearly every single Miss Hong Kong before her and after her, ended up in the `entertainment circle' (a favourite Hong Kong phrase). Probably more talented than many, she was nevertheless considered owing her instant success to landing a role that allowed her to basically `be herself', Min, a girl with an unquenchable spirit.
Cheung was not a beauty pageant contestant, which puts her in the minority among female stars. Discovered by comedy king Stephen Chow's talent scouts, she was cast as a prostitute in her debut, a daring move that pretty young things usually shun. This earned her the `best new-comer' award. She then continued to demonstrate that she can act. Six years later, she finally landed a role that won her best actress: Wai, a woman who has lost her husband to an accident struggling to survive with his six-year-old son from a previous marriage.
As to the rest of the cast, C'est has a star-stud support cast including Carina Lau, Fung Bo-bo, Chun Pui, Ng Ka-lai and Silvia Chang. And these are not cameo roles but all have an important part to play, although maybe a little bit less for Lau and Chang. With strong performances all around, C'est has an edge in this department. Lost in Time also has Chun Pui, plus Paw Hee-ching, playing Wai's parents. While Chun Pui's roles in the two movies, as Min's uncle and Wai's father respectively, carry about the same weight, top-notch actress Paw Hee-ching is wasted in Lost in Time. Louis Koo playing Wai's husband killed in an accident is very much a cameo appearance. But they have a secret weapon, darling Daichi Harashima from Japan, who practically steals the heart of every female audience, playing Wai's six-year-old son acquired from her husband's previous marriage.
The chief villain in C'est is cancer, and death. While under Yee's thoughtful direction, the ending is touching, it does not arise above melodrama. For Lost in Time, although the movie started with death, the chief villain is poverty. There are other obstacle in life too, but throughout the movie, there really isn't a crisis or climax as in C'est. Closest to one is Dai Fai's revelation to Wai of his delinquent past, how it drove his wife to desert him, taking their son with her. This revelation does not lead to anything earth shattering, but rather a sober re-assessment by Dai Fai and Wai of their relationship. The end is open-ended and upbeat, very much like that in one of my favourites last year, Taiwan's Blue Gate Crossing. As a life drama, Lost in Time is one notch above the melodrama C'est ten years ago.