"Fa yeung nin wah" is a co-production between Hong Kong and China, but this was made in Thailand back in 2000, so it is already over two decades old now and I had the occasion to watch it for the first time not too long ago as theaters picked it up again. I like that usually and find it a bit sad that for these old films being presented again at movie theaters, there are no great crowds, but with this one here, in the end, I was not surprised or disappointed that there was only one other person in the room. The really high imdb rating basically got me to the movie theater that day. And also the number of ratings here because the six-digit amount means that this is surely among the more-seen, if not most-seen Asian films from the 21st century. Even if it barely made it inside this 21st century. The writer and director is Kar-Wai Wong and this was far from an early career effort from him. He is in his mid-60s now and still considered among the most influential Asian filmmakers out there, even if quite a few others have made very big waves recently. This film here was not the only not exactly recent film that hit theaters again from him, so he seems to be in the news again. Kinda ironic though that my favorite from him is a movie with American actors that most do not like too much, but may have to do with my Norah Jones preference. Anyway, back to this one here: The running time is briefly under 100 minutes, so not a too long film in fact and I think there is also really this one version, which is really not a given with Asian films. And I must say I am glad about that. It dragged a lot for me and there felt little substance below the admittedly fairly watchable make-up, cinematography, art direction and costumes. But it's just difficult when key conflicts in here consist of characters wondering for how long their mah-jongg game continues.
The two lead actors are Tony Chiu-Wai Leung and Maggie Cheung, both briefly under the age of 60 now, which means barely under the age of 40 back then. He is still a prolific actor, she seems to be retired now. Everybody as (s)he wants. I cannot say a lot else about these two actors because I don't really know their other stuff, but what I saw here also did not really make me too curious to check it out, even if I feel that the screenplay was a bigger problem in this very slow movie than the performances. Anyway, there are of course many supporting actors as well, but none were really massive key figures. Maybe the main characters' significant others before the movie come closest to that, but in the end it is about nobody other than the two people you see on the poster here. There are no side stories really. Also, it's not even remotely comedic. Kar-Wai Wong has delivered subtle comedy here and there, but this one here is really all about the romance. Also not about drama. No other genre than romance really. I guess the idea that one character says she goes out to buy noodles (while being really well-dressed) could have been a bit of a running gag, but it is never meant as such. So there is the spice somewhat missing to this film altogether and the idea alone of a romance between these two, of him falling for her as he explicitly states does not make it watchable on its own the way it was presented her. She is never as explicit with such a statement that she loves him, but you can maybe read between the lines with how he reminds her of her husband, but also we hear (from him) that she will never leave her husband. The smaller characters are brought in again through statements like how they know there is something going on and it did not work for long to shut them out and keep it a secret. From that perspective, maybe the reference to the question if it isn't enough that the two themselves know there is no romance between them (yeah, right!) is an interesting one. At least more interesting than the rest of the film for the most part.
The sequence with the male protagonist and for once not the female protagonist is also easier to remember when he is asked if he has somebody else, then responds with yes and basically relaunches the weird situation and then says no. This honestly did not feel like something to happen in real life. Not in 2021 for sure, but also not 20 years earlier. We have to keep in mind that this is not a film from the 1960s or so. I know this is where it was set, but even for that era, the ways in which the characters interacted and the exact dialogue writing did not feel too credible. It felt more modern and looked more modern. This surely, at least to some extent, had to do with this being a color film. As for director Wong, it is not unusual at all that he has connections to western culture, not only because of him having worked at Hollywood too, but also because of how he has used really American English-language songs in other films and here at least the performer is American if we take a look at a song used on really many occasions here, especially in the second half. I am of course talking about Nat King Cole, an artist I kinda like, even if I would not say I am a fan, and the song is "Quizás, quizás, quizás", the Spanish-language version of "Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps" that is mostly known thanks to Doris Day if I remember correctly. Anyway, this song is one I definitely appreciate and always feels very catchy, so it may have been my favorite aspect from the film even. Says a lot about the other production values though in a not particularly positive manner. So yeah, more focus from Wong here on South European language instead of America this time, but still not a 100% Asian movie, even if it is with the setting, character etc.
Aside from that, I must also say that the impact of the main characters' professions and scenes linked to their workplace left me rather unimpressed. Nothing simply stood out. Nothing made an impact. There is just nothing special to one minor character telling a major character that she can have the next day off until noon because she will be out in the evening. At a movie it was I think. Hopefully a better movie than this one here. As I am moving closer to the final stages of my review now, however, let me still say from a more positive perspective that visually this film is okay. I mentioned it early already, but there is really no blame here to put on the fashion designers or the visual artists that worked on the many production departments linked to this film. However, as a consequence of that, the outcome overall feels like a fairly solid birthday present in terms of the wrapping, but what is inside, feels like a major disappointment. I also don't think I was distracted or anything while watching. This movie never really took off from my perspective and I'd say the rating here on imdb is way too high unfortunately. The film is still in the imdb top250, top235 even, but to me it belongs nowhere near, also not into the top2500 for that matter, maybe top25000 barely, and it will be a good day when it loses its place in this prestigious collection of movies. Certainly one of the worst inclusions.
A key criticism of the entire presentation for me is that I never really cared for the characters, cheered for the characters to get together, end up asa couple and at least this could have been a desired effect if there is really absolutely nothing else to it here. In terms of genres or true qualities. Also kinda shocking to see this was (according to imdb) nominated for almost 100 awards, including big players like the BAFTAs, and won approximately half of them. I cannot see why at all and I am pretty sure a rewatch is not gonna change anything about that. This film is not a failure, but certainly on the weak and highly overrated side. I give the outcome a thumbs-down and again I must say that this did not run for two hours or something. Still, I guess you can nonetheless check it out if you like or better love Asian romance films that are not very recent because, looking at the overall reception by critics, awards bodies and movies-goers in general, many thought this was a quality watch. I am curious how you see it, but I would certainly be more amazed if you also think this one is very much on the pompous,, style-over-substance side. I give it a thumbs-down and a pretty definite one indeed. Best if if you skip the watch here. Even at a movie theater, this was not good. At a simple television or laptop screen probably even more disapointing outcome.
The two lead actors are Tony Chiu-Wai Leung and Maggie Cheung, both briefly under the age of 60 now, which means barely under the age of 40 back then. He is still a prolific actor, she seems to be retired now. Everybody as (s)he wants. I cannot say a lot else about these two actors because I don't really know their other stuff, but what I saw here also did not really make me too curious to check it out, even if I feel that the screenplay was a bigger problem in this very slow movie than the performances. Anyway, there are of course many supporting actors as well, but none were really massive key figures. Maybe the main characters' significant others before the movie come closest to that, but in the end it is about nobody other than the two people you see on the poster here. There are no side stories really. Also, it's not even remotely comedic. Kar-Wai Wong has delivered subtle comedy here and there, but this one here is really all about the romance. Also not about drama. No other genre than romance really. I guess the idea that one character says she goes out to buy noodles (while being really well-dressed) could have been a bit of a running gag, but it is never meant as such. So there is the spice somewhat missing to this film altogether and the idea alone of a romance between these two, of him falling for her as he explicitly states does not make it watchable on its own the way it was presented her. She is never as explicit with such a statement that she loves him, but you can maybe read between the lines with how he reminds her of her husband, but also we hear (from him) that she will never leave her husband. The smaller characters are brought in again through statements like how they know there is something going on and it did not work for long to shut them out and keep it a secret. From that perspective, maybe the reference to the question if it isn't enough that the two themselves know there is no romance between them (yeah, right!) is an interesting one. At least more interesting than the rest of the film for the most part.
The sequence with the male protagonist and for once not the female protagonist is also easier to remember when he is asked if he has somebody else, then responds with yes and basically relaunches the weird situation and then says no. This honestly did not feel like something to happen in real life. Not in 2021 for sure, but also not 20 years earlier. We have to keep in mind that this is not a film from the 1960s or so. I know this is where it was set, but even for that era, the ways in which the characters interacted and the exact dialogue writing did not feel too credible. It felt more modern and looked more modern. This surely, at least to some extent, had to do with this being a color film. As for director Wong, it is not unusual at all that he has connections to western culture, not only because of him having worked at Hollywood too, but also because of how he has used really American English-language songs in other films and here at least the performer is American if we take a look at a song used on really many occasions here, especially in the second half. I am of course talking about Nat King Cole, an artist I kinda like, even if I would not say I am a fan, and the song is "Quizás, quizás, quizás", the Spanish-language version of "Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps" that is mostly known thanks to Doris Day if I remember correctly. Anyway, this song is one I definitely appreciate and always feels very catchy, so it may have been my favorite aspect from the film even. Says a lot about the other production values though in a not particularly positive manner. So yeah, more focus from Wong here on South European language instead of America this time, but still not a 100% Asian movie, even if it is with the setting, character etc.
Aside from that, I must also say that the impact of the main characters' professions and scenes linked to their workplace left me rather unimpressed. Nothing simply stood out. Nothing made an impact. There is just nothing special to one minor character telling a major character that she can have the next day off until noon because she will be out in the evening. At a movie it was I think. Hopefully a better movie than this one here. As I am moving closer to the final stages of my review now, however, let me still say from a more positive perspective that visually this film is okay. I mentioned it early already, but there is really no blame here to put on the fashion designers or the visual artists that worked on the many production departments linked to this film. However, as a consequence of that, the outcome overall feels like a fairly solid birthday present in terms of the wrapping, but what is inside, feels like a major disappointment. I also don't think I was distracted or anything while watching. This movie never really took off from my perspective and I'd say the rating here on imdb is way too high unfortunately. The film is still in the imdb top250, top235 even, but to me it belongs nowhere near, also not into the top2500 for that matter, maybe top25000 barely, and it will be a good day when it loses its place in this prestigious collection of movies. Certainly one of the worst inclusions.
A key criticism of the entire presentation for me is that I never really cared for the characters, cheered for the characters to get together, end up asa couple and at least this could have been a desired effect if there is really absolutely nothing else to it here. In terms of genres or true qualities. Also kinda shocking to see this was (according to imdb) nominated for almost 100 awards, including big players like the BAFTAs, and won approximately half of them. I cannot see why at all and I am pretty sure a rewatch is not gonna change anything about that. This film is not a failure, but certainly on the weak and highly overrated side. I give the outcome a thumbs-down and again I must say that this did not run for two hours or something. Still, I guess you can nonetheless check it out if you like or better love Asian romance films that are not very recent because, looking at the overall reception by critics, awards bodies and movies-goers in general, many thought this was a quality watch. I am curious how you see it, but I would certainly be more amazed if you also think this one is very much on the pompous,, style-over-substance side. I give it a thumbs-down and a pretty definite one indeed. Best if if you skip the watch here. Even at a movie theater, this was not good. At a simple television or laptop screen probably even more disapointing outcome.