Ah fei jing juen (1990) YTS - Download Yify Movie

Reviewed by CinemaSerf 7 / 10

I suppose you might call the dashingly handsome

I suppose you might call the dashingly handsome "Yuddy" (Leslie Cheung) a bit of a Lothario. He has good looks and charm, and he sails through life thinking only of himself. His ideal existence comes to a bit of an abrupt halt, though, when his alcoholic courtesan of a mother "Rebecca" (Rebecca Pan) reveals to him in a drunken stupor that she isn't actually his mother at all. The rug has now been pulled from under his cocky feet and he now embarks on a rather self destructive journey to find out just who the real woman is. After an initial relationship with "Su Li-zhen" (Maggie Cheung) he finds himself hooked up with dancer "Mimi" (Carina Lau) but no nearer his ultimate goal. It's only when "Rebecca" decides to set off with her newest beau for a new life that she dispatches "Yuddy" to the Philippines where his answer lies. Meantime, "Su Li-zhen" has again found herself alone after her boyfriend decides to leave his police job and become a sailor. Is it all possible that the two might reconcile? Now, there is definitely something of the episodic - even soap opera - about this film. An unlikable and frankly selfish character seeking his own truth for his own reasons, but to be fair to the director and the writers, they manage to elevate it from the more tabloid and gradually develop the characters into creatures with whom we can, to an extent, empathise. There are façades all over the place, truth and honesty and trust are near, but in shadows - and the use of the dark, rainy, Hong Kong scenarios provides ample locations for all of those to hide - and from which to be discovered. Not my favourite of Wong Kar-wai's films - it is just a little predicable - but still, he packs lots into ninety minutes and the cast deliver well - especially Maggie Cheung - and I did enjoy it.

Reviewed by gbill-74877 6 / 10

Stylistic, but lacking warmth

There is an unpolished, raw, kind of grimy feeling to this film, one which maybe fits the sad, lonely little lives of these characters, few of whom are likeable. A young playboy (Leslie Cheung) who "hates work" treats a couple of women like disposable objects, and yet they can't seem to stop loving him. It's a type of story I'm not all that fond of, even if we gradually understand one of the things that seriously damaged him, and maybe made him into the self-centered asshole we see before us. His mother gave him up for adoption, and his stepmother only took him so she could get a regular paycheck. It was quite hard to empathize with him though, and I disliked the misogynistic overtones of the film. Even his nerdy friend gets in on it, slapping his second girlfriend (Carina Lau) around in the rain after she's been abandoned. My favorite moment was when a kind police officer tries to talk some sense into the first girlfriend (Maggie Cheung), and after they part, he narrates:"I never really thought she'd call. But every time I passed by the phone booth, I'd stand there for a while. Maybe she's all right and she made it back to Macao. Or maybe she just needed someone to help her through that one night. Soon after that, my mother passed away, and I became a sailor."The film desperately needed more humanizing touches like that, or some level of self-reflection or philosophy deeper than its bird metaphor. The painting of emptiness and loneliness that Wong Kar-wai gives us is undercut without it, though I did like some of the artistry in his camera work. Oh, and if you're as puzzled as I was about the character seen at the very end, it's a somewhat random/minor character who was meant to be the main character of the second part of the story, a film which was never made. Somehow the meaninglessness of that fits, though I'm not sure it's in a good way.

Reviewed by unge_werther 7 / 10

Typical Wong Kar-Wai, but certainly not his best film

Many people here seem to be of the opinion that this film is not very typical of Wong's work. I would like to disagree. To me, this film is a very typical Wong film. That is, if you are expecting the absolutely perfect colours, pictures and frames of 'In the Mood for Love', you will be disappointed. This film, like many of his other films, has a more rough quality to it.

All you who have seen 'In the Mood' and liked it should really see this film, as I don't think you can understand 'In the Mood' without having seen this one. I was not particularly overwhelmed by 'In the Mood', but now that I have seen this film, I at least understand the later film better. So maybe also those who did not like 'In the Mood' should see this one, as it might change their perception of that film.

To me Wong Kar-Wai's best film is still Chungking Express. And this film, although kind of in line with that film, does not reach up to that standard. I am glad I saw this film, as it explains other parts of Wong's work to me, but were it not for the sake of understanding that bigger picture, I don't think I would recommend it.

Ah fei jing juen

1990 [CN]

Action / Crime / Drama / Romance

Ah fei jing juen

1990 [CN]

Action / Crime / Drama / Romance

Please enable your VPΝ when downloading torrents

Plot summary

Director

Top cast

Tech specs

Movie Reviews

I suppose you might call the dashingly handsome

Stylistic, but lacking warmth

Typical Wong Kar-Wai, but certainly not his best film

2 Comments