THE LOVERS (1994)

Starring: Nicky Wu, Charlie Yeung, Tsui Kam Kong, Carrie Ng

The Lovers is based on a famous Chinese story that is very similar to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The story begins with an innocent happy romance that ultimately ends in tragedy for both of the protagonists. Such romantic tragedies are like a magnet for girls, who seem to enjoy watching the development of a good love story, then cry their eyes out when everything ends tearfully. Just take a look at James Cameron’s Titantic.

As with all remakings of a classic story, certain alterations must be made, and Tsui Hark takes some liberties with the story.

The film begins with the introduction of Juk Ying Toi (Charlie Yeung), the only daughter of a wealthy court official (Tsui Kam Kong), but definitely not cultured. Her parents despairs of her inability to write, recite poetry, and play the lyre, so her mother (Carrie Ng) sends her off to the Sung Yee College for education. The only difficult part is that the college is for boys only, and she has to don a male disguise to get in.

Ying Toi meets Leung Sam Bak (Nicky Wu), a hard-working student, but with a poor background. They quickly becomes friends, and he often helps her out in her studies, to the point that he falls for her. But he doesn’t know that Ying Toi is actually a girl, and he often berates himself for falling for a boy. However, a time does come when he realises that he is a she, but their confused emotions only makes things worse.

Leung graduates, but Ying Toi has been ordered home because her parents have decided to marry her off to Ma Man Choi, a son of the powerful Ma family. Ying Toi orders Leung to go see her parents and talk of marriage, which he does when he becomes an official of a small province.

For those of you familiar with this story, then you’ll know what happens at the end, but I’m not going to spoil the story for those who haven’t seen it. Let me summarize by saying that the latter half of the film is very sad and depressing, and if you are the sentimental type, then this film will have you in tears.

After some box-office turkeys, Tsui Hark wanted to show the world that he was capable of making an intelligent film, and The Lovers is very well directed, yet it is no classic. Certainly, The Chinese Ghost Story is a better film. But since Tsui Hark is renowned for his visuals and storytelling, The Lovers is beautifully crafted, with some very good set pieces and costumes. You can see the contrast between the two halves of the film: the first half is bathed in sunlight, and everything has a cheerful look to it, while the second half is very melancholic, with a lot of darkness and coldness surrounding the characters.

The theme of homosexuality is often explored in the film, especially as a student named Ting has an attraction to Leung, who later becomes attached to Ying Toi. I suppose being in an all-boys school, these things happen, but homosexuality is a very taboo subject in China, so it is to Tsui’s credit that he skims past the subject, focusing wholly on the emotions of Leung and Juk.

Ma Man Choi, the man Juk is supposed to marry, and a rival to Leung, does not feature in this film. He only gets a fleeting mention, but I guess this is all and well. The film would have dragged on for too long if a third character was involved, but it still felt as if something was missing. Maybe it is the reason why the film failed to be a classic. However, The Lovers is beautifully made, and the scenery is amazing to look at, capturing the essence and nature of teaching and studying in ancient times.

RATING

7 1/2 / 10