Yut mun Hinneisi (2010)

Yut mun Hinneisi: Directed by Ivy Ho. With Jacky Cheung, Tang Wei, Ekin Cheng, Maggie Ho-yee Cheung. Two shopkeepers are set up on a blind date by well-meaning relatives, despite the fact that they both have somebody else on their minds.

“With u0026quot;Crossing Hennessyu0026quot;, writer-director Ivy Ho apparently aims at accomplishing two things: tell the love story between two people on opposite sides of Hennessy Road in a u0026#39;realistic lightu0026#39;; and provide a touch of nostalgia to the colourful Wan Chai area of Hong Kong which is to be u0026#39;dismantledu0026#39; for an u0026#39;Urban Renewalu0026#39; project.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eShe is only partly successful on both counts. What I felt at a morning media screening of this film was mostly boredom, alleviated by a few moments of delightful comedy provided by its secondary cast. A predictable tale with an abrupt ending.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLoy (Jacky Cheung) is a 40-something bachelor who still lives with his mother (Paw Hee Ching) and works at her electrical appliance retail shop on one side of Hennessy Road of Hong Kong island. On the other side, Oi Lin (Tang Wei) works at her uncleu0026#39;s shop selling sanitary hardware. Loy and Oi Lin are being matched for marriage by their elders and are forced to go on a date. They do so reluctantly, as each already has someone on the side.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOi Lin is in love with Xu (Andy On), a hot-head convicted for assaulting someone; and Loy is being wooed by his ex-girlfriend (Maggie Cheung Ho Hee) who has just divorced her husband. Are the two really meant for each other – or just two folks passing by the same road? In trying to present the love story in its u0026#39;realisticu0026#39; and genuine light, we get mundane scenes of everyday life – inside shops, homes and rooms – with nothing inventive or creative to grab our wandering attention. And believe me, after so many of such u0026#39;nothing happensu0026#39; scenes, your mind will start to wander. Jacky Cheungu0026#39;s performance is up to par, portraying a sleepy-head with low self-esteem and no passion for romance. Tang Wei, however, appears wooden here, quite unlike her sexy seductress role in her last film, Lust, Caution. The two leads are not only devoid of screen chemistry, they are upstaged by the supporting cast and subplots.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIndeed, veterans Danny Lee, Paw Hee Ching (pictured) and Zhu Mimi provide laughs and lots of local humour with a romantic triangle subplot while Gill Mohindepaul Singh and Lowell Lo are involved in supernatural and dream sequences as a mysterious waiter and Loyu0026#39;s late father respectively. Ekin Cheng also makes a brief appearance, ostensibly to excite the audience.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs a swan song of sorts to Wan Chai district, u0026quot;Crossing Hennessyu0026quot; does little to evoke the history or provide insights to the famous district. Ivy Ho has written many commendable films (the 2002 u0026quot;July Rhapsodyu0026quot; and 2005 u0026quot;Divergenceu0026quot; spring to mind) but displays nothing outstanding or memorable as director of this sophomore effort (after u0026quot;Claustrophobiau0026quot; of 2008). – By LIM CHANG MOH (limchangmoh.blogspot.com)”