Companheiros, quase uma história de amor

Every time I watch this kind of film, I feel as long as I have lived a lifetime

The film deals with an every-day subject that lots of films have dealt with so far: boy meets girl. So many people might tend to say "It's always the same with that kind of stories", but in this case they are wrong. This film is simply lovely. Everything is there. The rough meeting, the soft touch, the first realization, the despair in the rain, the slight hope, the fate's sign and finally the supernatural power of emotions. All this with Hongkong and New York - two of the most exciting cities in the world - as background and casted with the outstanding actress Maggie Cheung who I'd love to see more often in the cinema.

There might be bigger love stories, but for those two hours you watch this film the most beautiful love story comes from Hongkong.

This brilliant love epic spans 10 years and traces the star-crossed relationship between two Chinese immigrants who are mysteriously drawn to each other and find comfort in each other's experiences. Though certain coincidences are perhaps unrealistic at first glimpse, the scriptwriters handle it extremely well, embedding them in a believable situation. The direction is flawless, the casting is perfect. Leon's innocent face is exquisite and Maggie's strength and determination deem her a likable heroine. Perhaps slow for non-romantics, this movie paints a beautiful portrait of ideal love, one which surpasses time and place and confirms the ideal belief that certain things are meant to happen in our life. This movie addresses many issues at a level yet unreached by Hollywood and it can really teach westerners a lesson on how to bring out the essence of true love.

This movie is much more than a conventional romance, with the typical meet-cute sequence and plot-convenient obstacles that get neatly resolved. I'm thinking of the typical American Meg-Ryan-Julia-Roberts movie, where everyone is inexplicably wealthy, no one has any real problems, and all the "wrong" boy/girl-friends are shrews or dorks ... so the audience has nothing to do but wait for the inevitable and unrealistic end.

This movie represents some other real-life complications, such as coping without a lot of money, and shows the characters struggling with, and taking responsibilities for, their relationships and commitments.

The two leads, Maggie Cheung & Leon Lai, are terrific. Also wonderful is the supporting performance by Eric Tsang as Pao Au-Yeung. This is a thoughtful and beautiful movie about real people and real love.

Other reviewers have said it well: this is a wonderfully romantic film. I hate to make a statement like, "It's the Asian version of . . . ", because the film doesn't need a comparison to any American film to have an identity, BUT it has several things in common with "The Way We Were", "Comrades" follows an up-and-down romance over the span of several years and has that same quality of bittersweet fate hanging over them throughout. The early scenes in which Li Xiaojun (Leon Lai) and Li Qiao (Maggie Cheung) begin their love affair are particularly entertaining. A favorite scene: Li Xiaojun helping Li Qiao on with her coat, they get closer and closer, their lips brush together, then they embrace, then a full on kiss, then mutual passion overtakes them as they both feverishly unbutton that same coat they had just been struggling to button. The scene is both sweetly romantic and humorous.

Another similarity to "The Way We Were" is that both films benefit from a tear-inducing song, in this case a love song by Taiwanese singer Teresa Tang which plays a vital role in the plot. Great job of direction by Peter Chan and a wonderful script, but it's the performance by Maggie Cheung that really sells the film. From the moment you see her behind the counter at McDonald's you're hooked by her energy, spunk, attitude, and determination. Her character runs the gamut of emotions during the course of the film and there wasn't one false moment in her performance. She is totally believable, whether she's flashing a self-satisfied grin into her ATM machine or dealing with a devastating loss (I won't give it away, but Cheung's reaction is heart-wrenching). "Comrades" is truly a wonderful film.