Ngon na ma dak lin na (1998)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Chung Man Yee

Writer:

Ivy Ho (writer)

Release Date:

28 May 1998 (Singapore)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

Two young men fall for the woman staying upstairs when she practises J.S. Bach's "Notebook for Anna Magdalena".

Plot Keywords:

Writing | Music

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Kelly Chen	...	Mok Man-Yee
Jacky Cheung	...	Policeman
Leslie Cheung	...	Editor
Chun Chung
Josie Ho
Takeshi Kaneshiro	...	Chan Kar-fu
Leo Ku
Aaron Kwok	...	Yau Muk-yan
Eric Tsang
Wei Wei
Anita Yuen	...	Assistant Editor

Also Known As:

Anna Magdalena

Runtime:

Japan:97 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Hong Kong:IIA | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Movie Connections:

References Xiao cheng zhi chun (1948)

One for a long snooze

This film is unbelievable. I mean, it's unbelievable that this film even left the drawing board. It's unbelievable that three talented actors could even choose to do a film of this quality. Correction. It's not the quality, it's the lack thereof I should be noting.

Anna Magdalena is a 'romantic tale' (it says on the back), in which a piano tuner (Takeshi Kaneshiro) bumps into a serial womaniser (Aaron Kwok) who is a no-hoper in his aspirations to become a novelist. The 'piano tuner' decides to offer the 'novelist' a hand by putting him up for a few days. Meanwhile a new resident (Kelly Chen) moves into their apartment block, with piano and all, only that she shows little talent. A 'love triangle' forms.

Well, maybe even the clichéd love triangle cannot be an attribute here, as I've seen more chemistry in a bottle of air. The three characters seem as loveless as a defaced stone wall, and the film rarely ever delves further than skin deep. The storyline is virtually nonexistent, and where there is one, there is too much irrelevance to keep the flow running. In particular, the film tries the old tactic of showing the unique quirks of the characters, but in no way do they fit in with the story, nor add anything to what we want to discover.

There is nothing in this film that salvages it from me wanting to call it rubbish. It is simply pitiful. I am a big fan of Kaneshiro and Chen, and I did like to a certain extent their outing in Lavender, but Anna Magdalena would be a film I wouldn't want to remember them for. One to leave on the shop shelf.