SKY
OF LOVE (2003-HK)
review by Neo
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Sky
of love or sky of nothing?
Some movies cannot be remake, but some; a remake can touch a more target audience
than even an original. Ditto were a great romantic and touching movie and its
remake will always be questioned. However, Sky of Love managed to go in between
these circumstances resulting in an affectionate movie that does not reaches
to the top but stay in the middle of good and bad. That however is not a wrong
or bad thing, as Sky is a touching movie and for a remake, it was a pretty damn
good of a job. Although Neo loved Ditto, in Sky he sees a different movie, a
more China cross Taiwan type of movie and perhaps everything is different due
to the setting, so let’s just say this movie is not as good as Ditto,
but almost as touching.
Sky due with the issue of time, the randomness of love, how one decision you make in your life can change the way you live the rest of your life. How knowing the future can eliminate the real purpose of life – HOPE. After all, what is life like if it can be all planned out, at least Neo can’t stand that feeling. Life is too random and nothing can be predicted, so what if you know about the future? Won’t it just sadden you? Won’t it just destroy you? Kill your inner flame within you? While this review is not a philosophical lesson, but Neo wants you to know that life can never to planned out. As Brandon Lee says moments before he die: “we do not know when we will die.” Sky dues with this issue and show us how a life of hope and love can be destroyed because of knowing the future or least in this case what happened in the future.
Gigi Leung is by all means a much improved actress and her expressions are flawless and portray a country girl with convincing style and her emotions are touching to watch. Ken Chu is perhaps better than the 4 F4 in acting, while I have not seen him else where, he deserves a pad on the back for a pretty good first timer performance. While the Chinese guy and girl portrays the chance and fate of love in seemingly easy manner. However this movie is ultimately not about the performances but rather its ability to touch the audience heart of the missed opportunities that occurs in the world of love.
While people will constantly diss Sky of Love as a remake failure and unoriginal. Neo feels differently, as he believes that a remake is successful when it leaves the audience thinking and understanding about the world. Perhaps it is all my thoughts and my own personal beliefs of this world that caused my vision of love in real life and the movie. It is beautiful to believe in romantic love, but life is not like the movies and nor will it ever be. While many people like me do not believe, Sky of Love shows the inner depth and how fragile and random love can be. How it can be stopped by a mistake. Ended by unforeseen circumstances. An injury leading to a whole new life. More importantly as I say before the movie explores the theme of the consequences of knowing about the future and how life should remain as it is – an unpredictable world meaning HOPE for even the most bleakness of situations.
I rate it 8.5/10
Comment
on this movie on HK Neo Reviews Forum
Director: Teng Hua Tao
Starring: Gigi Leung, Ken Chu
Length: 110 minutes
Year: 2003
Reviewed by Andrew (Neo), January 2005