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DIARY (HK)

 ABOUT THE MOVIE

Genre: Thriller/Drama
Starring: Charlene Choi, Shawn Yue and Isabella Leong
Director: Oxide Pang
Rating: NC-16 (Some Disturbing Scenes)
Year Made: 2006

 


SPECIAL FEATURES


- Trailers


 


TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Languages: Chinese
Subtitles: Chinese & English
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Running Time: 1 hr 40 mins
Region Code: 3
Distributor: Scorpio East

 

 


SYNOPSIS:
 

After a messy break-up, Winnie (Charlene Choi) records all her thoughts in her Diary. Diary tracks her life thereafter, which includes falling into severe depression and a meet-up with Ray (Shawn Yue) who looks exactly like her ex, Seth. Winnie relates to Ray that Seth has died in a car crash two years ago. Winnie and Ray starts dating thereafter. When Winnie suddenly reveals that Seth has actually died from cancer one night, Ray finds something amiss...

MOVIE REVIEW :

There is nothing more satisfying than a smart psycho horror that still sends shivers down our spines just by thinking about it. Produced by the Pang brothers who are known for their visually-enticing horror movies, this picture will go down as one of the more creative executions of this genre in recent Hong Kong movie history.

Directed by Oxide Pang, the clever movie first introduces us to Winnie, who meets Ray, who mysteriously resembles her deceased ex-boyfriend. Then there is Winnie’s mysterious best friend Yvonne, who keeps popping out of nowhere to give her advice on men. And there is also a diary which Winnie keeps to pen down her most personal thoughts. Oh, we have to mention those wooden puppets which Winnie carves non-stop too.

With a plot like that, you’d be expecting red herrings everywhere, and the smart aleck in you would be continuously guessing the truth behind this seemingly complicated storyline. We thought we were quick, but Pang’s twisted plot got the better of us.

While some may regard this strategy of storytelling as a matter of style over substance, one cannot disagree that it is truly an interesting mind game while it lasted. And how apt this approach is, considering the main focus of the plot is about how the mind can destroy one’s life.

Hopefully not giving any spoilers here, you may be irritated at how the clues littered throughout the 85 minutes of the movie do not make any sense at the end of the day. But they do make for a visual feast, if you have seen the Pang brothers previous works like The Eye (2002) and Re-cycle (2006).

Trust these twin brothers to hook us with shot after shot of the deep-coloured apartment which looms of threat and danger.

Besides the lush visuals, Charlene Choi (A Chinese Tall Story, Rob-B-Hood) breaks her sweetie-pie stereotype to play the creepy Winnie to disturbing effect. Joining her is Isabella Leung (Dragon Squad, Isabella) who would make Sadako from Ringu proud with her eerie and unsettling stare. Shawn Yue (Initial D, Dragon Tiger Gate) completes the young cast by playing a pretty boy with limited room for expressions.

As cliché as the following statement may sound, this is one movie you’d either love or hate – depending on your level of tolerance for directors who enjoy playing mind twisting games with you.

SPECIAL FEATURES :

This Code 3 disc contains trailers for the movie itself, as well as Max Makowski’s One Last Dance and Derek Yee’s Protégé.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

It is a real shame that the DVD producers did not include the original Cantonese track on this disc, leaving us with only a weird Mandarin dub track. On a positive note, the visual transfer does the original disconcerting shots justice.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING:

Review by John Li

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Alternative Opinion:

. The movie review by our columnist

Other titles from Scorpio East:

. Fatal Contact


. Rob-B-Hood

. On The Edge

. The World's Fastest Indian

. Dragon Tiger Gate


. Unarmed Combat

. Crazy Stone


. Election 2


. We Are Family

. I Not Stupid Too


. The Shoe Fairy

. 2 Becomes 1

. 49 Days

. REAL

. Dragon Eye Congee

. A Chinese Tall Story

. Perhaps Love

. SPL

. Election


. The Myth


. Wait 'Til You're Older


. The Maid

 

 


This review is made possible with the kind support from Scorpio East


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