29+1

Chrissie Chau is going to celebrate her 30th birthday in a month, and life couldn't be better. She is a liberated woman with a handsome boy friend and she has just gotten a major promotion at work. Why is she so stressed out and why is her life collapsing around her? When her landlord sells her apartment and forces her to move to a month-to-month, who is Joyce Cheng. the woman who is exactly her age and has built an Eiffel Tower on the wall of her apartment?

This well-composed film tackles the issues of thinking you know what you want to do with your life when you're 18, and the choices you make: not bad choices, but choices that turn out to be unsuitable when you're a dozen years older. With a series of well-performed characters, it offers us the truism that happiness lies somewhere between the aimlessness of living in the moment and the constriction of making lifelong decisions, as Miss Chau and Miss Cheng find their lives destroyed by factors outside their control. It's been adapted very nicely from its original stage presentation, with some nice camera-work by Jason Kwan. Mostly, though, it's Kearan Pang's vision that controls, and produces a fine movie.

This film tells the story of a career driven women who is turning thirty in a month's time.

The film starts off very strong, as it realistically depicts a woman's fight in her career and her love life. The dialogs are good, because they are way more mature than most Hong Kong films for the mass market. The music is worth a mention too, as it features many tasteful English songs and also a few Cantonese classics.

However, when the film reaches the end, it lost focus on suddenly becomes the story of another woman. It is ok if the cheerful woman inspires the career woman, but the cheerful woman's subplot completely hijacks the story. I am unable to see the parallel between the two women, or how the cheerful woman inspires the career woman. If the ending could be changed, I would have liked it even more.

I think a movie is quite different from a stage drama. For the latter I expect a stronger storyline with a more stronger character leading in the story. In the present movie the focus is however shifting between Chirsty and Joyce, from time to time. I would rather the director give me more hint that she is telling two stories in one movie starting from the beginning.

I appreciate the effort of the director in giving her best. House of Joyce is decorated in a way showing the character of Joyce, especially the tower wall. Costume of female lead fits her character too.

I hope you would make more movie-like movies.

This is a movie that every girl should watch before they turn to the woman stage. you won't be disappointed if you have experienced any anxiety and failure in your late 20s.This film was adapted from the director's own solo play, which was a great success in Hong Kong. The film is even better than the play in my opinion because the director gives more dimensions to the two main female lead and the movie setting is much more mature after the eighth re-run of the solo play.