Lost in Time (2003) User Reviews

This bus ride will be long remembered...

[paul_haakonsen · 7/10 · 23 February 2013]

"Lost in Time" ("Mong bat liu") is a somewhat different movie compared to many other movies to make it out of Hong Kong, as it is not your average movie with sugar-coated romance or jaw-dropping action. Instead, you have a very heartfelt and passionate story that is told quite well. But even more so, it is really well acted and portrayed by the people hired for the various roles.

The story in "Lost in Time" is about Siu Wai (played by Cecilia Cheung) whose life is abruptly turned upside down as a tragic accident befalls her fiancée Ah Man (played by Louis Koo). Taking on the responsibilities of her fiancée's job, Siu Wai finds herself working hard to manage the work of a mini-bus driver on the busy streets of Hong Kong. But managing work, the responsibility of raising her step-son and her budding romance with colleague Uncle Seven (played by Wai-Man Chan) is quite a challenge.

Now, what works so well in "Lost in Time" is the storyline and the plot, because it is the type of story that you get drawn into, especially because it is a personal story and you immediately build up relationships to the characters in the movie. And hats off to Cecilia Cheung, as usual, but also Wai-Man Chan for their portrayal of the characters in the movie. They really carried the movie well, and it just wouldn't have been the same without them.

Having lived and worked in Hong Kong for four years, and not being a stranger to riding these mini-buses, this movie took on a deeper interest and appeal for me. But still, even for someone not familiar with this, "Lost in Time" will prove to be a good movie that will sink into your heart and stay with you.

For fans of Asian cinema and those of Hong Kong cinema, "Lost in Time" is a movie well worth watching. Especially if you need a change of pace from the usual action-packed movies and sappy romantic comedies that usually are seen coming from the Hong Kong cinema scene.

Good!

[bcrain · 8/10 · 30 January 2004]

Fans of Lau Ching-Wan and Cecilia Cheung will probably be quite happy with this film. Although the theme about coming to terms with your life after the sudden loss of a loved one is tough, the film balances out the high drama with some humor. The scene where Ching-Wan shows Cecilia how to maximize her earnings on the minibus route was a high-point. Overall, this is my favorite Lau Ching-Wan film of the last couple of years. After all the goofy comedy he's done recently, it was nice to see him in a more serious, natural role. Cecilia is good as well. Louis Koo's small role as the dead guy may disappoint those wanting to watch the film for him. Although he's quite good, he's just not in the film very long. This is a good compliment to C'EST LA VIE MON CHERI, the 1993 film that Lau and director Derek Yee worked on. As a word of advice, it's probably not best to view both films on the same night, as the emotions could be somewhat overwhelming.

Both got through

[videocai · 8/10 · 28 May 2020]

A minibus driver died in an accident, his girlfriend wanted to prove her ability by raising the man's son and taking over the driver's job. Her colleague- a middle-aged man helped her a lot. Finally, the two who had been hurt somehow found out what they always evaded and what they really wanted. I am very touched by this movie. The director is very famous in Hongkong, he is good at telling simple but meaningful stories like this, for example C'est la vie and I am somebody. I would say the chief actor acts more impressed, and the chief actress behaves just OK. But this does not change the fact that the movie is a masterpiece, warm and thought-provoking.

Ten years later

[harry_tk_yung · 6 April 2004]

Spoilers

Just to ensure that nothing is lost in translation, the Chinese title of Lost in Time, translated literally, is `Can't forget'.

Ten years ago, director Derek Yee's (Tung-shing) tender tear-jerker C'est la vie, mon cheri (1994) catapulted Miss Hong Kong Anita Yuen to instant stardom through her winning best actress in the Hong Kong equivalent of Academy Award. Ten years later, Yee did it again, this time with six-year veteran but still fresh looking Cecilia Cheung in Lost in Time. Lau Ching-wan is the significant other in both, not looking a day older now than before, regardless of whether he is perpetually young or was prematurely old.

How do the two movies compare?

Let's start with the story. C'est is a sweet romance in its purest tradition. The small hurdle, her mother's objection, is finally broken down by his sincerity. Lost in Time is much less of a sweet love story, and even at the end, the two aren't exactly sure but are willing to try. Here we see the development of a tender relationship (but not without bumpers) that wanders tantalisingly at the doorsteps of romantic love, carefully and caringly depicted, a more matured treatment compared to C'est.

I said Lau didn't change much, visually, in ten years. As to the two characters, while in both he plays an estranged spouse, Dai Fai in Lost in Time is more down-to-earth and mature. Kit in C'est is an angry artist coping out from the rat race, seeking refuge in self-imposed isolation and self-pity. Dai Fai, on the other hand, is a weathered mini-bus driver with a regrettable past, detached but not uncaring.

Yuen, like nearly every single Miss Hong Kong before her and after her, ended up in the `entertainment circle' (a favourite Hong Kong phrase). Probably more talented than many, she was nevertheless considered owing her instant success to landing a role that allowed her to basically `be herself', Min, a girl with an unquenchable spirit.

Cheung was not a beauty pageant contestant, which puts her in the minority among female stars. Discovered by comedy king Stephen Chow's talent scouts, she was cast as a prostitute in her debut, a daring move that pretty young things usually shun. This earned her the `best new-comer' award. She then continued to demonstrate that she can act. Six years later, she finally landed a role that won her best actress: Wai, a woman who has lost her husband to an accident struggling to survive with his six-year-old son from a previous marriage.

As to the rest of the cast, C'est has a star-stud support cast including Carina Lau, Fung Bo-bo, Chun Pui, Ng Ka-lai and Silvia Chang. And these are not cameo roles but all have an important part to play, although maybe a little bit less for Lau and Chang. With strong performances all around, C'est has an edge in this department. Lost in Time also has Chun Pui, plus Paw Hee-ching, playing Wai's parents. While Chun Pui's roles in the two movies, as Min's uncle and Wai's father respectively, carry about the same weight, top-notch actress Paw Hee-ching is wasted in Lost in Time. Louis Koo playing Wai's husband killed in an accident is very much a cameo appearance. But they have a secret weapon, darling Daichi Harashima from Japan, who practically steals the heart of every female audience, playing Wai's six-year-old son acquired from her husband's previous marriage.

The chief villain in C'est is cancer, and death. While under Yee's thoughtful direction, the ending is touching, it does not arise above melodrama. For Lost in Time, although the movie started with death, the chief villain is poverty. There are other obstacle in life too, but throughout the movie, there really isn't a crisis or climax as in C'est. Closest to one is Dai Fai's revelation to Wai of his delinquent past, how it drove his wife to desert him, taking their son with her. This revelation does not lead to anything earth shattering, but rather a sober re-assessment by Dai Fai and Wai of their relationship. The end is open-ended and upbeat, very much like that in one of my favourites last year, Taiwan's Blue Gate Crossing. As a life drama, Lost in Time is one notch above the melodrama C'est ten years ago.

A Fantastic Romance/Drama

[ebossert · 9/10 · 6 October 2006]

My online rental queue is filled with hundreds of East Asian films, some of which I add without knowing all that much about them. When Lost In Time came in the mail, I was expecting a generic romance film. I am now very happy to confess that I was very, very wrong.

The storyline itself is not particularly novel or original, but the character development here is outstanding. The filmmakers successfully used actions over words to build the foundations of the main characters. Cecilia Cheung is thrown into a very difficult situation early on. The introduction of her struggles, one after the other, adds significantly to her likability, and the viewer develops a deep concern for her wellbeing. No explicit conversations of her difficulties are even necessary because I experienced them with her. Ching Wan Lau comes off as an authentic gentleman who's good deeds are motivated by a rather complex history. The young boy did admirably and was extremely likable.

There is one scene in particular, that takes place during the second half of the film, which I consider to be one of the greatest in the history of cinema. I rarely cry while watching films. Joint Security Area forced a few tears down my cheek, but "The Scene" in Lost In Time made me cry so profusely that I had to stop the film and take a break to regain my composure. It's that damn good! To be honest, Lost In Time hit me like a ton of bricks in a very positive and happy way. It has earned it's place as one of my favorite Romance films, and comes with my highest of recommendations.

Finally an awesome romantic drama.

[sabera_17 · 10/10 · 23 August 2006]

Put it like this, Lost in time is the best romantic drama to come out of Hong Kong since the movie endless love(C'est la vie mon Cherie). What is even better is that the director of that movie, also directed this beautiful movie.

Wai(Cheung)is waiting for her fiancée(Louis koo)who is a bus driver to come, unfortunately he meets with an accident, and eventually dies. Wai so shocked with his death, that she cannot even shed a tear. There is nothing she can do, with a son that her fiancée left behind, she has a handful of work to do. To provide support for herself, and supposedly her son, she goes in the bus service business that her fiancée was in. She has a hard time, but Fai a colleague of her fiancée helps her out, supports her and her son. Wai finds herself falling for him, but she is lost, in that should she forget about her fiancée and go for Wai, or she should just live with the good memories that she shared with her Fiancée.

Oh I so wish Hong Kong would come up with plots more like this, that is the biggest problem. They do not make so much original romantic drama's, they are just Triad/cop crazy. Director Yee showed that Hong Kong can indeed come out with great, emotional, romantic drama's, and Lost in time is the greatest example for sure. You can't help but just love the feel of this movie when you are watching, from the streets of Hong Kong, to the inner feelings of the characters.

Cecilia Cheung was just awesome, in looks, and acting. Her acting in this movie got her best actress award in the 23rd Hong Kong film award. Her character brought out a range of emotions, that were just great to watch. This is her best on screen performance since ever, 10 times better than her performance in her movies that came out after this movie, and wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy better than Fly me to Polaris. I say watch Fly me to Polaris first, hate her in that movie, then watch Lost in time and then love her, then you will get a good inner feeling out her. For Lau Ching Wan, I just loved seeing this guy in his serious acting mode, cause honestly his comedic acting is very tiresome. Very refreshing it was to watch him in this movie, his acting was very natural, and a character that you can both love and feel pity. The best performance he has put on screen since his other project with Yee which was Endless Love. Although Louis Koo played a very minor role in the movie, you can also like him for some reason. The performance in this movie, is what boasts this movie way higher.

Too bad there has been no other romantic drama as brilliant, and beautiful as Lost in time recently. Lost in time is not a supposed tear jerker like endless love, but lost in time has quite realistic emotions exploding out of the screen, that you can come to admire very much.

This is my favourite movie of all time out of any movies, either Hollywood, China, Korea, Japan, Lost in time is my favourite of all time period. For me it is going to quite hard for a movie to top Lost in time for me.

If I said that Lost in time is my favourite movie all time, that means that every single person reading this review should go and watch it, I don't care the way you get it either stealing, killing, or just buying or renting, go and WATCH IT!

11/10 Extremely beautiful movie to watch.

The whole film is full of sympathy

[z-59713 · 8/10 · 6 April 2020]

How can this mother develop great maternal love to support and educate this son in this cruel and indifferent real society, so that he can know, contact and adapt to this society as a normal child? This play starts from the mother's love and affection, and emphasizes the maternal brilliance of "a weak woman, a strong mother". The film stars Liu Qingyun and Cecilia Cheung, which are the two highlights of the film. Liu Qingyun in the film is still Shangjia in acting, but the biggest highlight is Cecilia Cheung's progress. From young wife to struggling woman to mother of child, Cecilia Cheung is quite skilled in the transformation and identification of these three main identities, without any affectation or affectation. The reason why the film is moving is inseparable from Cecilia Cheung's acting. Of course, the film itself also follows erdongsheng's consistent style of literary and art films, showing some of his emotional contacts in the story, his director's perspective. The film has no great feature in the story, but the struggling women and single parent children themselves will become the lyric focus of the film. In addition, the tragic situation of Liu Qingyun's role makes the whole film full of sympathetic color.

Cecilia Cheung fans ya gotta see this...

[dennisyoon · 12 August 2004]

Did you like her in Failan(Gut wrenching!)? How about Running on Karma(So sweet!)? Don't forget King of Comedy(Whoa!). Well, she is so real and struggling in this one that you just gotta give it to her. She's still beautiful even when portraying desperation. The bonding between her, Lau Ching-Wan and the little boy captures the essence of a family coming together after falling apart from previous ties. Painful to watch at times but well worth it in the end. Is that her singing during the credits?

Lau-Ching Wan comes across so noble in this one as he just can't resist the urge to be the hero coming to the rescue and really melting away the past. You're rooting for him so strong to get the girl and he just makes such the wonderful dad/problem solver. Excellent performances by the leads.