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Review
by Kozo: |
The Matrimony is one pretty film. This pseudo-supernatural
Mainland drama features gorgeous art direction and costume
design, and possesses many scenes that are staged far
more beautifully than they really have to be. Cinematographer
Mark Lee's work here is exemplary, and the score, bar
a few loud shock notes, is evocative of the period and
the genre. The movie itself isn't too bad either, though
it's far outpaced by the film's technical achievements.
You can't win them all.
Leon Lai is Junchun,
a cinematographer in 1930s China who gets dealt a bad
romantic hand. In the film's opening moments, Junchun's
girlfriend Manli (the gorgeous and ubiquitous Fan Bing-Bing)
gets clocked by a speeding car in a display of distracting
fake CGI. She dies in his arms, turning him into a sullen,
sometimes depressed individual. Fast-forward one year
and he's entered into a marriage of convenience with
Sansan (Rene Liu) a shy girl who hails from a family
of needlework laborers. Sansan wishes to become closer
to Junchun, but he won't have it. Obviously still attached
to Manli, he treats Sansan rudely and shuts her out
of his bedroom, and pretty much his life.
Sansan finds an ally in her
quest to grow closer to Junchun - and it just so happens
to be Manli. Her red-garbed spectre haunts their household,
seemingly attached to her various former belongings,
which Junchun keeps locked up in a room like some museum
of lost love. Manli is a seemingly benevolent and kind
ghost, who's heartbroken by Junchun's continued mourning.
Her plan to rectify this involves possessing Sansan
on occasion to attract Junchun's attention, plus giving
Sansan tips on worming her way into Junchun's heart.
Meanwhile, Sansan wonders if Junchun and Manli ever
slept together. Cue ghost-human slumber party and catty
female bonding sequences.
Unfortunately, there's no pajama
party for the girls here. Though the above description
makes the film sound like it could be a supernatural
female bonding flick, The Matrimony is far too
elegant and austere to be that touchy-feely. The film
possesses supreme artifice, including wonderful settings
and cinematography that are opulent without being egregious.
The actresses carry the film quite well, bringing subdued,
felt emotion to their opposing roles. Yes, they're opposing
roles. Despite the girls acting like fast friends once
the initial "but you're a ghost" introduction
is out of the way, The Matrimony isn't some syrupy
tale of female friendship across metaphysical borders.
As the movie is quick to point out, ghosts are inherently
bad - and Fan Bing-Bing's all-red outfit should be a
massive clue for anyone who's seen an Asian horror film
before. Sooner or later, Manli stops acting ultra-friendly,
which means it's time for ghost-battling religious rites
and even more spooky shock scares. Can Junchu break
out of his Leon Lai-induced coma to ride to the rescue?
Mainland China is notorious
for disallowing films with superstitious or supernatural
content, even going so far as to ban them from distribution. The Matrimony seems to get around that by placing
the film in the past (i.e. before the Cultural Revolution)
and adding an epilogue that further distances the film's
supernatural-themed narrative from the audience. What
they do to make things China-friendly doesn't really
hurt or help the film, but the extra story padding is
questionable in its necessity. The film itself doesn't
feel necessary either, as its story fails to resonate,
despite spending lots of time attempting to do so with
themes of commitment, unrequited love, and more. The
female characters are decently developed, but Junchu
is basically a male flower vase and Leon Lai really
doesn't make much of an impact in the role. For all
its emotional themes, The Matrimony is short
on passion.
Still, the film is quite
well made, and manages to deliver on its routine storyline
in a fairly efficient manner. Director Teng Hua-Tao
(Sky of Love) provides some decent tension, and
Mark Lee's camerawork is excellent. Overall this feels
like a quality production - which is why it also disappoints.
When you put together these people (the cast and crew
include many award-winners), one would hope for more
than just a a pretty exercise in routine commercial
artifice. Mainland China actually has the potential
to produce more intriguing ghost movies, if they managed
to use the country's history or culture to provide some
uniqueness not seen elsewhere. Nowadays, ghost movies
are so overdone that you need something - anything -
to make each new film appear at least different from
the umpteen films that preceded it. The filmmakers give
it a good try, but The Matrimony only succeeds
at being prettier and more elegant, and not scarier
or better than your standard ghost film. (Kozo 2007) |
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