Wo ai chu fang

KITCHEN (Wo Ai Chu Fang)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Mono

Bernardo Bertolucci once said: "Movies are made with the same material dreams are made of". As evidence, one might look no further than Yim Ho's unexpectedly beguiling KITCHEN, the tale of a womanising hairstylist (Jordan Chan) and his transsexual 'mother' (Law Kar-ying) whose lives are changed irrevocably by the arrival of a beautiful orphaned houseguest (Yasuko Tomita). Aided and abetted by the magnificent, sensuous visuals conjured by master cinematographer Poon Hang-sang, Yim's simple tale explores the consequences of bereavement on the inevitable relationship that develops between Chan and Tomita. However, their mutual platonic obsession is ultimately defeated by time and circumstances, and the film closes quietly on a scene of domestic bliss, threads untied, passions unconsummated. Yim explored similar emotional territory several years earlier in the rural drama THE DAY THE SUN TURNED COLD (1994), but here, his themes have been tempered by the warmth of the characterisations. Chan and Law are effortlessly good, but Tomita carries the film with demure grace. An early scene, in which she's found on a rooftop overlooking Hong Kong at night, expressing her silent, wordless grief over the death of her grandmother by reaching for the moon, is quite genuinely heartbreaking. Elsewhere, the film's long middle section, detailing events surrounding another unexpected tragedy, is a little too leisurely and could have been trimmed without significant loss, but the bookends are magnificent and the images are never less than ravishing. You'll be humming the wistful, nursery-rhyme theme music for days afterward.

Despite its languid pacing, the original 124-minute version is the preferred cut, rather than the 112-minute 'international' print which tampers with the narrative flow. Thankfully, the longer version seems to have prevailed in most major markets, especially on home video.

(Cantonese dialogue)

Initially I was unable to deal with this film because it is so unlike the book. After about half an hour I settled down and appreciated it for itself - and it's good. It's nice. It's more melancholy than the book and the characters are pretty different - Aggie is definitely almost totally unlike Mikage. Ditto Louie and Yuichi - almost opposite. The further the movie gets, the closer it seems to the source material, although maybe it's just a function of the increased appreciation for the film that comes in that time, as well. Definitely interesting, visually attractive and touching. Nice.

There are two versions of this story. A 1989 original Japanese version with Ayako Kawahara as Mikage. Then there is the 1997 Hong Kong version with Yasuko Tomita as Aggie (aka Mikage), an attractive young adult female who lost her parents when young then loses her caretaker grandmother and then closes within herself, such as not speaking, to the world. She is taken in by a friend of grandmama, a transgender woman with a young adult hip son. That sub story is in itself an interesting and moving part of the film. Aggie seems to have a better than average sense of smell which, as we discover, makes her a tour-de-force in the kitchen.

A creatively written and well acted self discovery plot with a potential touch of romance and many unpredictable twists. English subtitles were accurate, but a bit weird in giving our characters English names.

What can I say, 'Wo Ai Chu Fang' or 'Kitchen' is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen.

Aggie is suffering a great pain after the death of her Grandmother. She has no one else so she moves in with her Godmother and her son, Louie. Aggie does not speak a single word, the pain she is going through is unimaginable, and this portrayal is simply stunning in its sadness and grief. Louie and Wah try to make her feel at home, and soon Aggie's passion for cooking shines through her sadness.

But it's not all grief and sadness, the film is also very very funny. Most films would find it hard to combine sadness, beauty, comedy and a weird quirkiness but 'Wo Ai Chu Fang' handles it amazingly.

The film almost had a hypnotic effect on me, its beauty is so peaceful and calm. Even the tragic scenes are handled with a beauty never seen before. The cinematography is breathtaking. The film is flawless, no second of film wasted or boring. Yes, the film is slow, but this just adds to the overall beauty and calmness of the film. The music is incredible, its really nice and used well.

The night scenes are incredible. Maybe it's just me but I found the scenes at night, with blue light mixed with the black night and a calm wind blowing through the world so utterly beautiful.

And I think that sums up the movie, beautiful! But also one of the most funny, charming, sad and surprising films I have seen in a long time. This is now one of my favourite movies of all time. You have to see it.

This is a pure masterpiece and in my opinion one of the greatest movies ever made.

10/10

based on the book by bana yoshimoto, these are 2 of the features that permeate this quiet and composed reverie on the nature of loss and the impact breavement has on the spirit and what it takes to overcome this. the book is similarly composed although the characterisation seems to have been changed slightly...aggie seems a little more reserved and kooky than in the book and jordan chan in my opinion does not carry the depth that yoshio's character in the book had.

nevertheless, distanced from the book the film is still pleasing to watch, the grace of the visuals typically that of a slightly avant garde hong kong filmmaker, and as such the film tends to suffer slightly from a lack of substance, this is partly to be blamed on the screenplay. the majority of the emotional depth comes from the mother, who to be fair, was always going to be very difficult to portray on screen but is here accomplished very well. in my opinion, the scene of aggie on the rooftop which was mentioned in a previous review as being singularly demonstrative of aggie's gried seems contrived and trite compared to the reserved and less overt sadness carried by loui's mother in every scene she appears in, even when expressing joy the undercurrent of the loss he/she feels for her wife is manifest at all times; physically in her transformation into a woman.

this is a dreamy little wisp of a movie, whilst neither profound or a tour de force of acting, but if u like quirky little movies like this, then this is very well realised and i can say that i like it despite its flaws. the book can be film better; having seen in the mood for love, wong kar wai seems to be the man for the job though i doubt he will have time for it.