Xing yuan (1999)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Jingle Ma

Release Date:

21 August 1999 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Plot:

A man returns from a recent death to find his love, only to have her not recognise him and reject him.

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Handicap

Awards:

3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Richie Ren	...	Onion / Cheuk (as Rickie Yam)
Cecilia Cheung	...	Autumn Yue
William So Wing Hong	...	Dr. Woo (as William So)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yat Ning Chan
Audrey Mak	...	Chubs
Sheren Tang
Eric Tsang	...	Jumboball

Also Known As:

Fly Me to Polaris (International: English title)

Runtime:

96 min | Japan:93 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Singapore:PG

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Seri Dewi Malam (2001)

Soundtrack:

Celestial Wish

Excellent, old-fashioned love story

Based on the film, "Heaven Can Wait," it is the story of a blind patient (Richie Ren) who falls in love with his nurse (Cecilia Cheung). Just when their relationship seems to be heading in the right direction, the patient is killed in a traffic accident. Soon after, he is in heaven, and one of the gatekeepers tell him that he is the 6th billion person to die, and that every billion person gets a wish. His wish is, of course, to return to Earth to see his love for one last time.

There are restrictions, if this is to happen. He can't tell her that he is who he is. There are many instances where he tries but physically can't. And he must return within 5-10 days. I forget. His final warning is that every person who has returned to Earth has regretted it.

The fact that Onion is blind either works well or doesn't, because seeing as how beautiful Cheung is, it is really hard to suspend belief that she would have trouble doubting Onion's love.

The story is very simple, and you must suspend belief about heaven, the afterlife, and the goodness of people to believe in this movie. I personally LOVED this film. It personifies love without it being cheesy or gratuitous. However, I cannot say that this film is optimistic.

The soundtrack is amazing. It uses saxophones, windchimes, and gives off a tempetuous and bittersweet mood of love lost. Cecilia Cheung even does the title track on this film. It is a haunting and melancholy song, called "Star Wish," which is the actual translation of the movie's title. The setting is in a sprawling hospital, where the nurses live on residency. The main colour motifs are white and gray, giving a wash of purity, innocence and perhaps a sense of calm after the storm.

They could have cast a better "Onion" (Ren), because his overt happiness and just general sense of lacking acting capabilities leave something to be desired. But the person who shows the most promise and natural talent is Cecilia Chueng (Autumn), considering the fact that she was so young, and it was her second film. She brings a naturalness to the film. She is beautiful yet contemplative. She is sad yet fresh.

There really is no flaw in this movie, and if there is, other factors far outweigh the bad.