2005-02-09 03:51:54尚未設定
公主復仇記
(reviewed on 8/2/05)
公主復仇記 (Beyond Our Ken)
year: 2004
country: Hong Kong
directed by: 彭浩翔 (Pang Ho Cheung)
Chan (played by teenage idol 鍾欣桐 Gillian Chung) is a Chinese language teacher working in a secondary school. A month after breaking up with her boyfriend, Ken (played by 吳彥祖 Daniel Wu), she finds her nude photo being posted on the internet. Chan traces down Ken's new lover, Shirley (played by Chinese actress 陶紅 Tao Hong), for help; the two girls quickly form a special bond and they're determined to get revenge on Ken. Suddenly taking up the role of feminists, they constantly reassure their hatred to Ken by calling him "an asshole". The important life lesson to learn is: don't let your two girlfriends ever meet each other.
While the camera follows the two young women around town, with most of the scenes characteristically weaved together using frequent jump-cuts, 'Beyond Our Ken' has never lost its focus. When you think about the background story, there actually isn't much that may happen. In the film, the two characters do not go far - for a large part of the movie they're either wandering around or trying to break into Ken's apartment (which almost proves to be a mission impossible). However, one have to appreciate the talent of the director, as well as the wonderful performances of the two lead actresses, which help to keep the narrative engaging enough from the beginning to its final revelation. Besides, combining different musical styles in the same soundtrack, the musical score of the film also contributes to the very pleasant viewing experience. As a side note, I find it quite funny when the character of Gillian, who's currently one of the most popular singers, requests to stop the music of My Little Airport, a Hong Kong indie band, playing in the background. A statement from pop musician to the indie ones?
Here I'd like to give some special credits to Gillian Chung - since I have long dismissed her acting skills (cause, to me, she really looks like a dumb, though she's not a blonde), it's a delightful surprise to see in this film that she can actually act, carrying her sentimental yet complicated role so well. I'm sure that 'Beyond Our Ken' wouldn't be this good if not for her acting (or, at least, her pretty face). Considering the fact that she's only played some stupid (even if not intended) masturbatory objects in most of her previous outings (they called it "screen goddess" in the old days), it might already have been a brave career move for the teenage idol to play a sexually active character who's dumped by her man. (From hindsight, maybe Gillian's characters in most of her previous films do reflect the reality: who'd bother if a girl looking like Gil asks to be your girlfriend?? Anyway...)
Before the last 10 minutes of the film, 'Beyong Our Ken' is a refreshing story about the exquisite relationship between two girls who share the same boyfriend and are in constant tension; the final part of the film simply takes the whole narrative to an exciting new level. After the end credits, the director quotes from Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' to give the film title another meaning; however, the reference is at best a pseudo-intellectual act, and at worst reveals the director's original intention to make his film a mere setup for its plot trick. Fortunately, that's not shown in the result. I like the ending, but I appreciate even more the director's effort to tell an interesting story before the final twist (which Pang pretentiously refers as "the ultimate purpose to be beyond our ken") - You know, it's not uncommon these days for directors to let their surprise endings do ALL the talking for their films.
'Beyong Our Ken' is an interesting study on gender relations and feminine friendship, featuring a breakthrough performance by Gillian Chung, as well as a very scientific explanation of why the toy dolls Barbie and Ken break up after their 40 years together. The film represents the first step of Pang into the territory of serious drama, and is surely a welcomed entry into the director's filmography, which to date includes the hysterical black comedies 'You Shoot, I Shoot' and 'Men Suddenly in Black'.
rating: 8/10
公主復仇記 (Beyond Our Ken)
year: 2004
country: Hong Kong
directed by: 彭浩翔 (Pang Ho Cheung)
Chan (played by teenage idol 鍾欣桐 Gillian Chung) is a Chinese language teacher working in a secondary school. A month after breaking up with her boyfriend, Ken (played by 吳彥祖 Daniel Wu), she finds her nude photo being posted on the internet. Chan traces down Ken's new lover, Shirley (played by Chinese actress 陶紅 Tao Hong), for help; the two girls quickly form a special bond and they're determined to get revenge on Ken. Suddenly taking up the role of feminists, they constantly reassure their hatred to Ken by calling him "an asshole". The important life lesson to learn is: don't let your two girlfriends ever meet each other.
While the camera follows the two young women around town, with most of the scenes characteristically weaved together using frequent jump-cuts, 'Beyond Our Ken' has never lost its focus. When you think about the background story, there actually isn't much that may happen. In the film, the two characters do not go far - for a large part of the movie they're either wandering around or trying to break into Ken's apartment (which almost proves to be a mission impossible). However, one have to appreciate the talent of the director, as well as the wonderful performances of the two lead actresses, which help to keep the narrative engaging enough from the beginning to its final revelation. Besides, combining different musical styles in the same soundtrack, the musical score of the film also contributes to the very pleasant viewing experience. As a side note, I find it quite funny when the character of Gillian, who's currently one of the most popular singers, requests to stop the music of My Little Airport, a Hong Kong indie band, playing in the background. A statement from pop musician to the indie ones?
Here I'd like to give some special credits to Gillian Chung - since I have long dismissed her acting skills (cause, to me, she really looks like a dumb, though she's not a blonde), it's a delightful surprise to see in this film that she can actually act, carrying her sentimental yet complicated role so well. I'm sure that 'Beyond Our Ken' wouldn't be this good if not for her acting (or, at least, her pretty face). Considering the fact that she's only played some stupid (even if not intended) masturbatory objects in most of her previous outings (they called it "screen goddess" in the old days), it might already have been a brave career move for the teenage idol to play a sexually active character who's dumped by her man. (From hindsight, maybe Gillian's characters in most of her previous films do reflect the reality: who'd bother if a girl looking like Gil asks to be your girlfriend?? Anyway...)
Before the last 10 minutes of the film, 'Beyong Our Ken' is a refreshing story about the exquisite relationship between two girls who share the same boyfriend and are in constant tension; the final part of the film simply takes the whole narrative to an exciting new level. After the end credits, the director quotes from Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' to give the film title another meaning; however, the reference is at best a pseudo-intellectual act, and at worst reveals the director's original intention to make his film a mere setup for its plot trick. Fortunately, that's not shown in the result. I like the ending, but I appreciate even more the director's effort to tell an interesting story before the final twist (which Pang pretentiously refers as "the ultimate purpose to be beyond our ken") - You know, it's not uncommon these days for directors to let their surprise endings do ALL the talking for their films.
'Beyong Our Ken' is an interesting study on gender relations and feminine friendship, featuring a breakthrough performance by Gillian Chung, as well as a very scientific explanation of why the toy dolls Barbie and Ken break up after their 40 years together. The film represents the first step of Pang into the territory of serious drama, and is surely a welcomed entry into the director's filmography, which to date includes the hysterical black comedies 'You Shoot, I Shoot' and 'Men Suddenly in Black'.
rating: 8/10