On na ma dak lin na

I went into this film with no expectations, and came away very pleasantly surprised. It is one of my most favorite romantic films.

The main storyline, a romantic triangle, was nice enough. Each of the three main characters (Chan Kar-fu, Mok Man-yee, Yau Muk-yan) have such different approaches to life and romance that it was pleasant (and sad) to watch the ways they connect and fail to connect. I felt this storyline was satisfying by itself, but I think it was given some richness by a series of very peripheral characters that comment on the theme of the film with their own inabilities to romantically connect with the people they are attracted to. For me, however, the thing that made this film stand out most strongly was the eccentric story-within-a-story (written by Chan Kar-fu, read by the assistant editor) which both lightened the serious tone of the film, and deepened the theme of love and the difficulty of admitting that love.

This movie stars 3 Chinese pop stars, so on the surface, it's like a Chinese equivalent of such American teeny-bopper fare as Dawson's Creek. But of course, it's much better.

The story has a more thoughtful and philosophical bent to it, and doesn't have silly and manipulative romantic entanglements like its American counterparts. That is, no one whines about their broken heart very much - but you still feel the pain.

Takeshi Kaneshiro is the best of the 3 leads as a lovelorn but reserved loner, and he conveys a lot of emotion while being very subtle. The other 2 actors, Kelly Chan and Aaron Kwok, are fine, too.

The all-important novel that Takeshi's character writes fulfills its promise of being an artlessly simple but incredibly sweet love story.

I'm increasingly impressed by foreign movies and their ability to convey the complexity of love, while by contrast, most American movies seem to make it much simpler and less realistic. This movie is one such foreign movie.

Leslie Cheung & Anita Yuen have small but effective roles as 2 people touched by the novel that Chan Kar-fu (Takeshi) writes.

This film is unbelievable. I mean, it's unbelievable that this film even left the drawing board. It's unbelievable that three talented actors could even choose to do a film of this quality. Correction. It's not the quality, it's the lack thereof I should be noting.

Anna Magdalena is a 'romantic tale' (it says on the back), in which a piano tuner (Takeshi Kaneshiro) bumps into a serial womaniser (Aaron Kwok) who is a no-hoper in his aspirations to become a novelist. The 'piano tuner' decides to offer the 'novelist' a hand by putting him up for a few days. Meanwhile a new resident (Kelly Chen) moves into their apartment block, with piano and all, only that she shows little talent. A 'love triangle' forms.

Well, maybe even the clichéd love triangle cannot be an attribute here, as I've seen more chemistry in a bottle of air. The three characters seem as loveless as a defaced stone wall, and the film rarely ever delves further than skin deep. The storyline is virtually nonexistent, and where there is one, there is too much irrelevance to keep the flow running. In particular, the film tries the old tactic of showing the unique quirks of the characters, but in no way do they fit in with the story, nor add anything to what we want to discover.

There is nothing in this film that salvages it from me wanting to call it rubbish. It is simply pitiful. I am a big fan of Kaneshiro and Chen, and I did like to a certain extent their outing in Lavender, but Anna Magdalena would be a film I wouldn't want to remember them for. One to leave on the shop shelf.

I absolutely adore this HK dramadey. The acting is wonderful, the music is beautiful, and the story is told expertly. Everything about this movie just makes me feel good and I absolutely adore it. Highest possible recommendation.

I dont know why everyone just has bad reviews about this film. I personally really enjoyed this movie and have watched it countless times.

The film was very well plotted. Both Actors/Actresses and behind the scene producers need to be praised for what a meaningful story they put together.

The ending of the film was one of the most touching scenes I had ever scene when the second musical box opened.

People should try to appreciate the film. Try to understand the meaning behind it and then maybe will enjoy the film as much as i do!