R E V I E W :    Anna Magdalena  

Reviewed 9/16/00 | Background | Movie Review | DVD Review | Recommendation

Background 

Universe / 1998 / 98 minutes
Directed by Hai Chung Man

Movie: plot, performances, production, rating

For its first hour, Anna Magdalena sets a fairly straightforward course. Lonely piano tuner (Kaneshiro Takeshi) allows charming ne'er do well (Aaron Kwok) to move in with him. Lovely piano-playing lady (Kelly Chen) moves into their building; lonely piano tuner falls for her but does nothing, charming ne'er do well falls for her and takes action, lonely piano tuner pines away, etc. The stately pace is offset by the beautiful photography by Peter Pau (evidently the film was mostly shot in Vietnam). Director Hai Chung Man's 17 years as an art director are certainly evident in the overall good looks of the film. Music by Bach provides accompaniment and divides the movie into different "movements" in harmony with the music.

Then the film takes a sudden left turn into uncharted and unsteady territory under the musical heading of "variations." I was left at the train station by the shift. While this entire sequence looks sumptuous, it's so out of character with the rest of the film that it doesn't jell. For me, I was left scratching my head. It's a noble attempt to do something different with the genre, but ultimately the pieces don't fit together. The ending is equally unsatisfactory.

DVD: look, sound, subtitles, and features

Very good picture quality but a number of noticeable blemishes, or blotches. Colors are bright, fleshtones are natural, blacks are deep. This DVD looks gorgeous. The soundtrack is clear and the music is beautiful.

Widescreen (1:85), Cantonese/Mandarin DD 5.1 audio tracks, multilingual subtitles (traditional & simplified Chinese, English). The subtitles are white with black blacking and were very easy to read.

Includes mini-biographies for the three main stars, director, and producer.

Buy, rent, or pass?

An interesting, gorgeous-looking failure. Probably worth a rental for the experience, but not in the top-tier of recommendations even for rental.

 

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